


I've Got Your Six - Mob!TomxReader

by LeosSupernova



Category: Harrison Osterfield - Fandom, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), tom holland - Fandom
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Mob, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Fluff and Angst, Mob Boss Tom Holland, Multi, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:13:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 67,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29427234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeosSupernova/pseuds/LeosSupernova
Summary: Tom Holland is London's most mysterious yet terrifying mob boss. Nobody dares cross his path, let alone come within 10 feet of him, but when a certain barmaid is forced to catch his eye, she's swept up in a flurry of pain, passion and danger. What could possibly go wrong?INCLUDES:- Violence- Swearing- Toxicity/Manipulation- DeathMAY INCLUDE:- Smut (hehe)
Relationships: Tom Holland (Actor)/Peter Parker/Reader
Kudos: 3





	1. The Ever Mysterious Mr. Holland.

It was mid-autumn, the pavement was littered in crisp leaves - splaying shades of red, orange and yellow across the dull concrete and the air was sharp, almost like she could taste the cold right on the tip of her tongue. Y/N looked up at the night sky - the sun had not long since set and the sky was a deep shade of blue, stars twinkling against their backdrop. Despite the city lights, the stars faintly shone through the pollution just enough to look like a satin dress threaded with glitter.

Y/N made her way through the city, winding between the bodies of intoxicated teenagers queuing outside clubs and takeaways, as she made her way to the small pub just outside of the party zone, pulling her jacket tighter around her to fight the chill that made its way through every inch of her clothes. The Six Tails was a small pub, its clientele made up of mostly regulars and tourists that pop by for a quiet pint of beer and admiration of the old fashioned decor. With its tiled walls and 80's style carpet, The Six Tails was a nice change from the LED lit sleek clubs London was used to and known for, and it fit Y/N quite nicely. She made enough in tips from her regulars and pub enthusiasts and the shifts were easy - there were rarely any disturbances and it didn't take more than a few braincells to sling pints across the bar and hook up kegs. 

As Y/N rounded the corner to the quaint pub, she paused as she sighed into the night sky - blowing out cigarette smoke mixed with her visible breath in the icy cold weather, as she dropped the end and twisted it out with a flick of her foot, making her way through the small side door that blended between the industrial bins at the side of the building.

"Ah, Y/N. Early as always." Steve, her boss. Steve was quite a slender man, nearing 7 foot, with peppered hair and a face littered with dark brown freckles, he was always well put together - never being seen in anything other than a freshly ironed shirt and tight jeans, paired with his signature cowboy buckled belt - and though you could almost see every bone in his body beneath his skin - Steve was surprisingly strong, and settled almost all the disturbances that ever happened in the pub, with a little help from Y/N's fellow bartender and closest friend - Jay.

Jay was the same age as Y/N, though he never let her forget that he was a week older than her, but he made up for it by sharing a birthday weekend with her every year as tradition, ever since they first met, and people often thought they were siblings. With the same button nose and piercing green eyes, paired with deep brown hair - you'd be unlikely to think otherwise.

Y/N shared a small nod with Steve as she passed by his office and headed to the back room to store her backpack - looking into the mirror above the shelves, she threw her hair up into a ponytail and framed her face with a few stray hairs before reapplying the lip balm that had dried out in the cold autumn air and adjusting her earrings to make sure they didn't fall out when her head whipped round to each regulars voice regarding a top up on their drinks.

As she headed out of the room towards the bar, she realised there was something different about the atmosphere of the pub today. Almost all of the regulars were sat up at the bar, which makes maybe 20 of them, squashed together like sardines at a bar that could probably seat 10 - whilst the surrounding booths lay empty, apart from 2, one housed Billy - a quiet man who should've probably died 15 years ago with his unhealthy lifestyle, drinks and smokes more than anyone she's ever known and resides slumped in his booth from open until close - he's even slept in his booth on the odd occasion he's been too drunk to move, and has been there the next morning, readily waiting for his first pint of the day when Steve comes to open at lunchtime.

The other booth, was the one in the back corner of the pub, out of view from the bar but hushed voices could be heard from it, and one set of combat boot suited feet poked out beside the bench.

Y/N raised an eyebrow at Jay - who shrugged back at her, unaware of the reason as to why all of their regulars were seated at the bar, uncomfortably close and barely speaking, like a litter of frightened kittens. "No idea what's going on. Nobody will tell me why they're all huddling at the bar, cowering like a bunch of pussies. Ex-Army?! Scared of whoever is sitting at the end booth? Ridiculous. Whoever it is surely can't be that bad, right Red?" he quipped using Y/N's nickname, knowing it would get her to speak up for the first time since she'd set foot in the building.

"There's obviously something about them that's worrying, or they wouldn't all be fucking sat here dumbass. As for Billy, I doubt he's even aware of it. Probably just thinks nobody wants to speak to him today. That or he's too drunk to even notice, as per." she mentioned, as she spared a glance at the booth midway between the crowded bar and the hushed group, as Billy rocked back and forth over his half-pint, probably close to passing out again, as he usually does. But Y/N spoke too soon as another regular, Jim, softly snapped his fingers to catch her attention, evidently afraid of making any more noise.

Y/N turned towards him, tilting her head in question as he motioned for her to come over with a crooked finger. "We aint necessarily scared of 'em Miss Red." he whispered "We just don't wanna get involved with that shit. Aint worth the hassle ma'am, not for any of us. We come here to forget the troubles we been through, not to get wrapped up in more." His eyes darted down the bar towards the booth, being slightly more visible from his position, and then back to Y/N. He looked uncomfortable, which was unusual for Jim, he was one of the more hardened customers, incredibly outspoken and almost always the cause of incidents due to his undying wit and sarcasm.

"What shit, Jim? What could possibly be so taboo to make you all huddle up here instead of wobbling around shouting obsceneties like you normally do?" she questioned, bewildered by the sudden scarcity of Jims usual demeanour. "The mob, chick." another customer spoke up, "They're with the mob. Nasty stuff. Heartless and cold men. So young too, shame really. Probably grown up with it, runs in the family you see." he stated as his eyes darted back and forth, worried to see if the booth could hear him, "Best to stay away from 'em if you can Red. Ain't worth the trouble you'll get yourself swept up in, even if they know yer name." he sighed before taking a swig of his whiskey, tapping it against the bar for a refill.

"The mob? Here? What the fuck are they doing here?!" Y/N whispered back, exasperated. Her small pub was no place for mobsters, a club would be more suited for people of that kind, more skimpy women in tight dresses to scoop up and whisk into the night, more expensive alcohol in their price range instead of the bottom shelf booze the Tails served, but her train of thought was cut short too soon as Steve appeared at the end of the bar, calling her over. "Y/N, need you to do me a favour, end booth? Needs table service. Now I know we don't do that, we're a pub, I know. But this is important. Best behaviour. None of that sarcasm you're so well known for, alright?" he raised an eyebrow with a solemn look. Y/N nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. Important enough for table service? Who exactly WAS sat in the corner of the pub?

She gave Jay a distant look of nerves before re-rolling her sleeves and slowly heading towards the booth in the corner, trying to control her shaky breathing. Should she have refused? Jim and the others did say not to get wrapped up in this, but if she'd refused - would Steve have been angry at her? No matter anyway, because before she knew it she'd arrived at the corner of the booth - watching the men as they leaned across the table to each other, surrounded by a plume of cigarette smoke that twisted and snaked under the lamp hanging above the table. They hadn't even noticed she'd appeared, or if they had - they didn't let on.

Y/N cleared her throat as to alert the table of her presence. Nothing. She cleared it harder this time, almost obnoxiously, though it worked as all but one of the men glanced up at her, almost frowning at her interruption - though one brown curly haired man continued to ignore her, too wound up in the pile of paper bound in front of him. Y/N took a breath before she spoke up "Uh. Hi. I, uh- Welcome to The Six Tails, my boss told me you required table service?" STUPID. Why did she have to stutter? She SOUNDED nervous now, even though she'd tried her best not to. "Right. The barmaid. Sorry. I'll take a whiskey on the rocks." one of the men on the left spoke up, he was average height, with dark brown hair quiffed up at the front, he wore a dark blue shirt and black skinny jeans, paired with the all too familiar combat boots Y/N had seen at the start of her shift.

She quickly looked back up as she nodded and made a mental note of his face and order and turned her body to the men on the right, sparing a quick glance back to the left as she turned. The curly haired man sat next to him remained stone-faced, still unaware Y/N was there at all, suited in a brown leather jacket and white t-shirt, paired with the same black skinny jeans the combat booted man wore. She huffed and turned back to the men on the right, and as one lit up another cigarette from the one he was finishing he said "Just 2 pints for us, preferably San Miguel or something? If you don't mind, love. Thanks." he gave a soft smile before turning back to the binder of papers in front of the curly haired man, one of the curls falling across his forehead as he vigorously scribbled across the bottom of the page.

She raised her eyebrow at combat boot man, who quickly put a hand on the others arm. "Tom, mate. Drink?" This was the first time Y/N had seen his face, as he looked up she took in his eyes, the curl still falling in front of them, a deep brown - like wet soil. She laughed in her head at that but quickly caught herself smirking when he scowled at her, clearly annoyed at being interrupted from his work. "Bourbon. Bulleit, if you have it, and be quick about it. It's taken you long enough to get here in the first place." mumbling the last part as he turned his attention back to the papers strewn across the table. Y/N frowned at his hostility but took comfort in the apologetic look from Mr. Combat Boots beside him. "I'm Harrison, by the way. Osterfield. Sorry about Tom, he's just like that when he's busy. That's Sam and Harry. The Holland Double Trouble." he smirked flicking a pointer finger between the two younger boys across from him. Sam and Harry couldn't have been any older than 18 or 19, and Harrison and Tom looked to be in their early 20's, maybe a similar age to herself.

"Don't worry about it, I'm the same when it comes to doing the books for this place, never been good at maths, stress levels are always sky rocketing." she chuckled, "It's nice to meet you all though. I'll get those drinks over right away, and just give me a shout if you need anything else." She passed a small smile between the men, once again being ignored by Tom, and headed back to the bar to get their drinks, grabbing a tray on her way past. "Told you Miss. Nasty stuff. Ain't nice, is he?" Jim said in a hushed tone after your arrival back at the bar. "Which one?" Y/N questioned, challenging Jim for his knowledge on the broody boys in the far corner. "That Tom Holland. Right piece of work, I'm tellin' ya. Not a nice bone in his body. Right spiteful bastard. Took over the business from his da a year back. Thought Dom was bad enough running the Holland business but Tom is much worse. No regrets from that one. Heard that he cut off a mans fingers knuckle by knuckle for being late on payments once without even batting an eyelid. It was easier to see what I saw in the war than that. Couldn't imagine it." he rambled before choking on his own breath, and before Y/N could question it, she turned to see none other than Tom Holland standing at the end of the bar.

"Mr. Holland. Can I help you?" she squeaked, surprised at his sudden appearance after ignoring her entire existence earlier. "We need another ashtray. Or this one needs emptying. Either or. And the drinks we ordered which you were too busy to make because of your friend there babbling about my family, which I greatly don't appreciate, by the way." he shot a glare at Jim, who cowered into his pint glass, before turning back to Y/N, "I'd be quick about it, darling. I don't like to wait." He spared a short stare at her before turning back and heading back to the booth, leaving Y/N stunned and silent, before she kickstarted and rushed to collect the drinks for the table, passing a small smile to Jim, who looked utterly embarrassed before quickly heading back to the corner booth. "Here we go, 2 pints of San Miguel for Sam and Harry, our finest whiskey on the rocks for Harrison...and, uh, a Bulleit, for Mr. Holland." she stuttered as she placed the tumbler just above his papers, once again he ignored her. As she moved to take the ashtray towards the bin, Tom grabbed her wrist and dimped out his cigarette with his spare hand before once again glaring deep into her soul and releasing her. Y/N hurriedly tapped out the ashtray into the bin beside the bar before returning it to the centre of the table, pausing to see if they required anything else, and heading on her way back to the bar.

It wasn't long before a tense conversation started between Jim and the customer who spoke up earlier, which turned into an extremely loud argument, and before Y/N could even begin to try and calm them down, none other than Tom was stood between them, his fist balled around Jims shirt whilst his other palm was flat against the other mans chest. "I think you've caused enough hassle tonight with your big fucking mouth. Don't you agree?" Tom spat towards Jim, a look that couldn't be described as anything other than pure rage across his face, with that same harsh stare he'd given Y/N earlier. Jim raised his hands in surrender, refusing to catch Tom's eye, as he released him forcefully back onto his bar stool, swiftly spinning to face her. "I need to talk to you for a minute. I'm sure your friend can handle these fucking morons for a few minutes?" he spits, his eyes flicking between her and Jay. "Uh, of course Mr. Holland." Y/N obliged as she made her way quickly around the end of the bar towards the booth he was walking towards. He perched on the table and motioned for her to sit, the same stern look on his face.

Wringing his hands together before running a hand through his hair, Tom glanced at her for a moment before speaking up, "I can't imagine this place pays you much more than minimum wage, if it even hits minimum wage," sniffing before continuing "I'd like to offer you a proposition, should you like. I have a lot of meetings, meetings that are incredibly stressful. I need a constant flow of drinks to keep me from putting a bullet in every clients head that pisses me off." He looked down at Y/N, who was visibly cautious, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his lips before he spoke again. "If you like, I'd like you to work for me. A stand in bartender almost, during the day. You could continue to work here in the evening, if you...really wanted to. But I could offer you more pay to leave here and work later into the night for me instead."

Y/N's eyes widened at his completed proposal. Jim had only just told her earlier not to get wrapped up in the mob world. He'd warned her VERY clearly. "Mr. Holland, I'm very grateful for your offer, but I don't even know you. You don't even know my name." He scoffed at that, before glancing down at her again, the same ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Do I not, Miss Y/N Y/L/N?" Y/N gasped, before frowning at him. Creepy, much? "Either you're really good at listening or that's a total invasion of privacy, and it doesn't make me want to work for you any more than I already didn't." Sarcasm thick in her tone, which she immediately realised was a mistake when Toms head snapped round to face her.

"I'll give you a ride home when your shift is over Miss Y/L/N. Non negotiable," he said before handing her a business card that simply stated T.H on the front, followed by a mobile number, "and here's my number. You can text or call, I'll give you overnight to think about it. But no later than 9am tomorrow, or there'll be a car waiting outside your apartment block for you to bring you to me. I assume if there's no contact before then that you're too fucking stubborn to admit you need the money and therefore will be awake and ready to accept my proposal." Y/N stayed silent as she timidly took the card from his hand, noticing how the veins stuck out and pulsated as he released his grasp. "I'll leave you be until after your shift, Y/N. Please do think about it. I think you'd benefit greatly." Tom stood from the table and soon disappeared to the back booth once more, not another word said.

What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Y/N thought. He obviously knows where I live. I'm fully on Tom Hollands radar. What the fuck have I got myself into?

She made her way back to the bar, not realising she'd been away longer than she intended and Jay was already counting up the till. She made her way down the bar, collecting empty pint glasses and tumblers from her patrons to throw into the glass washer, before awkwardly making her way over to Toms booth, quietly collecting their glasses and giving the table a short wipe down. "Uh, we'll be closing in 10 minutes, thanks for coming." Y/N stated as she gave the men a small smile, Toms eyes still remaining trained on the papers in front of him, as she continued her way back to the bar, desperately trying to ignore the fact that Tom Holland would be waiting to escort her home when she'd finished.

-

Word Count: 3302.

A/N: Hi! If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading! This is my first fic I've ever posted online. I've never written online before so nobody's ever read my work lol. But if you have any feedback or questions I'd love to hear! I'm totally new at this so I'm totally open to suggestions. I actually had to stop myself from typing otherwise this chapter would be incredibly long for the first chapter and y'all would definitely get bored lmao. I've been on Wattpad for maybe almost a decade now? I had an account before this one but I forgot the password and my email doesn't exist anymore so I'm locked out lmao.

ANYWAY

My point with that last part was if y'all want spice, I can do that! I don't wanna totally unload a bunch of it on you if it's not needed/wanted though. I read a lot of Tom fics and just thought about how there isn't many Mob!Tom fics that are spicy too and the comments are always whining when there's suggestion of spice but it's not actually written so I thought I'd try my hand at it if it's wanted:)

I'll leave stuff here so y'all can comment if you've somehow found this book so I can read comments easier, but I'll probably change it up eventually to make it somehow easier lmao.


	2. Stay Out Of It.

As she turned the key in the front doors, Y/N took a short, shaky breath - it wasn't every day that a mob leader would give a common bartender a ride home. Was it so that she was safe, or did he have an ulterior motive? He'd already passed his proposition to her, so what more could he need from her? And then again, was it REALLY to make sure she got home safe, or something more sinister?

Y/N slowly turned around to face the dimly lit street, a matte black Chevrolet Camaro SS was parked under a streetlamp - its engine humming quietly, and the TH on the license plate made Y/N very aware that its engine was running for HER. Taking another shaky breath, she hastily made her way towards the passenger side door, which was suddenly pushed open from the inside - a slender hand grasping the indoor handle. "Are you getting in or are you just going to stare at my hand?" Tom snarked, once again carrying the ghost of a smirk on his lips. She lowered herself into the seat and closed the door behind her, before pausing and turning to Tom, as if he was waiting for something.

"Seatbelts are important, darling." he stated avoiding her gaze, and Y/N rushed to grasp the material before clicking it into place. "I doubt you need my address considering there's a car coming to pick me up in less than 9 hours." Toms head whipped round at her matter-of-fact tone and for the first time tonight she held harsh eye contact with him, trying to show she was unfazed by his notorious glare. Tom huffed and took a hand off the steering wheel, making her freeze, before he placed it on the gear stick, kicking the car into gear.

The drive was quiet, and something much more than incredibly tense. Not a single word was spoken for the first 10 minutes, before Tom cleared his throat. "I have no doubt you're wondering why I told you I'd drive you home," he spared a glance at Y/N before pausing to turn at an intersection "The city isn't safe for women like you. Most of the time. But definitely not at night." She cocked an eyebrow at him, urging him to tell her why. "You're an incredibly good looking woman, in the nicest way possible. I'm not trying to come off as vulgar," pausing to lick his lips before he continued "Something could happen to you." Y/N glanced at Tom, surprised at his sudden concern, but allowed him to carry on. "I don't think I could've forgiven myself if I'd left with the lads tonight and found out something had happened. You shouldn't be walking around the city at night. Are you stupid or just stubborn?" Ah. There it is. She thought, of course the sincerity wouldn't last long. Though she'd only known him a mere few hours, she'd already learnt enough to know that Tom wasn't the caring type.

She wondered if he had a partner, a wife, any friends outside of the mob, but she was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Tom piping up again "You could answer me now about my proposal. I'd rather know sooner than later, but there's no rush. If not, the offer of the 9am car still stands." Y/N glanced at him again, taking in his side profile, the sharpness of his jaw, the stray curl that once again fell across his forehead, and the rogue eyebrow that seemed entirely untamed compared to the other. She took in his nose, that had obviously been broken before - she wondered if it was to do with the mob or by accident, before moving to his thin lips that always seemed tight - like they were milliseconds away from falling into a grimace.

"It's rude to stare and not answer my question, Miss Y/L/N." She snapped her eyes back up to Toms face, he was actually smirking now, the first positive emotion she'd seen on his face since they met. "Sorry, Mr. Holland-" "Tom." She tilted her head in confusion before he continued "Tom. Call me Tom. Mr.Holland is for clients and lower members of the mob. You are neither." Something flashed across his eyes at the last sentence before he cleared his throat and averted his eyes. "So?"

Y/N stared at him for another few seconds, chewing on her lip, before she finally spoke up again "I would like to try? A trial, if you will. I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into before I rely on you to pay my bills, Mr-, Tom." She cringed at the use of his formal name, just seconds after he told her not to. He noticed either way, and bit back another smirk before replying, "If you would like, I can wait outside while you pick up a few things from your apartment and you can come with me to my home. There'll be no need for you to rely on me to pay your bills, Miss Y/L/N, if you take up my offer you'd be staying with me."

Y/N's head snapped back to him, briefly unaware she'd been lost in thought out of the window. "Stay with you? You didn't mention that earlier, Tom." she said, frowning at the seemingly major detail he failed to tell her. "Oh, of course. Purely for convenience, and your own safety. If you work for me, you've immediately got a target on your back, though I'm sure you're aware you already have one after talking to me, darling." Something twitched in his stare before he turned back to the road, obviously awaiting her answer, and suddenly - Y/N decided for once in her life, she'd do something she wouldn't normally do. Jay always told her she needed to do more, to live her life instead of lounging around in her Spiderman pyjamas with a tub of ice cream on the sofa.

"Okay," she whispered, turning her gaze back to Tom "I'll do it. And I'll stay with you. Will I be able to come back for my things another time?" she questioned, not wanting to leave anything important behind to be thrown into the bins behind the complex. "Of course you can. I'm asking you to move residence, not throw your life away." Tom scowled at her, as if she'd asked a stupid question, though Y/N thought it was quite needed and perfectly acceptable. "Alright then..." It was at this point she realised they'd been stopped outside her apartment building for the past 5 minutes. "I won't be long, after making you wait earlier I'll be sure of that." she quipped, climbing out of the car and closing the door before Tom could even take a breath. She grinned to herself as she unlocked the front door and headed up to her apartment, pleased in the quick wit that had appeared to stun the one and only, Mr. Holland.

-

After collecting the essentials that she'd need, as well as some photos for comfort and books to keep her occupied whenever she wasn't 'working' for Tom, she grabbed a winter coat and headed back down the steps towards Toms car, which was still running. "Got everything for now? It's getting late. You need rest, early start and all," he stated "and I don't appreciate the comment you made before you made that swift exit out of my car." There it was again, that smirk. Stop thinking about it, she thought, you can't start crushing on a mobster Y/N, that IS stupid.

The drive was short, quiet again, but a nice kind of quiet. It was comfortable. It wasn't long before Tom pulled up to a set of gates, punching a code into the box beside them and pulling through after they'd opened. The house, wasn't a house at all, if anything it was a manor. It had a garden bigger than Y/N's entire apartment building and the pub combined. This place must've had at least 20 rooms on the top floor, what could you POSSIBLY need so many rooms for? Does he live alone, or does the mob live with him? Once again, her thoughts were cut short when Tom opened her car door, she hadn't even realised the car had stopped, never mind the fact he'd gotten out and made his way round to her side. He grabbed the holdall from between her legs and extended a hand, and before she could even consider it Y/N found herself putting her hand in his and being yanked out of the car, awkwardly stumbling into his chest, almost bouncing back off at how hard it was.

"Shit. Sorry. Sorry. Fuck." Y/N rambled as she used the side of the car to steady herself upright before realising it wasn't the car that steadied her but Tom's arm around the small of her back instead. Tom smirked again, maybe even letting out a soft chuckle at the swears that came out of her mouth. "It's fine, darling. I pulled a bit too hard, and I wouldn't have let you fall over anyway, that would've been incredibly rude of me." He extended his hand again, hoisting her bag over his shoulder before leading her towards the front door, opening it and stepping inside, dragging her behind him. He kicked off his shoes, letting go of her hand before heading towards the kitchen island on their left.

The house couldn't even be described as extravagant. It was so much more than that. It was like something you'd see in a film. Black marbled floors paired with sleek black furniture accented with a deep emerald green. The room Y/N had entered was entirely open plan, the kitchen being on the left and what seemed like a small living room area on the right. Y/N wondered if the small living room area was more of a waiting area for clients, and if there was another room somewhere in the gigantic building that had a cosier, more intimate lounge. There was a large stairway in the centre of the room in front of her, like something you'd see in the back of a ballroom, with intricately carved twisting wooden bannisters, black again to match the rest of the room, with the landing leading off to either side at the top - branching out to the rest of the top floor. A large chandelier hung from the centre of the ceiling, it sparkled in the light as Tom moved around the breakfast bar which was when Y/N realised he was talking to her.

"Would you like a drink? Water? Wine? Spirits? I have everything. Even juice." He let out a breathy chuckle, pointing towards the glass doored cabinet holding multiple cartons of fruit juice. "Water will be fine, thank you. I haven't eaten today so I don't really feel like downing a glass of wine and starting my first day mildly hungover." She passed a small smile over to Tom, who to her surprise, returned it as he made his way towards her with a cold bottle of water. "Here, I'll show you everywhere you need to know, it's pretty easy to get lost in here if you don't know where you're going. Every door looks the same." He shrugged before extending his hand to her again, holding it up as if he was leading her to a dance floor as he made his way around the back of the staircase to the extended downstairs area.

"All these rooms are just empty guest rooms, apart from the one at the end of the left hallway, that's the laundry room. Obviously the back door is in front of you," he gestured towards the back wall of the house, which held ceiling to floor glass windows with a double door in the middle that extended out onto the patio, and further - the garden. Leading her back towards the staircase and up it, heading to the left at the top, he pointed towards the first 3 doors "and these are the bedrooms of the guys you met earlier, Harrison, Sam and Harry. They're out at the moment, down at some club on the strip. I'm not one for clubs myself, don't let them bother you if they come in late at night. They never shut up when they're plastered." Tom mentioned, scoffing before heading further down the left hallway.

"Each bedroom has its own en suite, so there's no waiting for bathrooms, but this is another bathroom, mostly used for visitors and clients," gesturing towards the door they passed on the left before they reached the end of the hallway "and this is my office. If I'm not in there, and I haven't asked for you, it's entirely off limits. I hold important paperwork in there. I'd highly appreciate if you stay out of it." Back to serious Tom again. It was nice while it lasted.

Tom spun on his heel and headed towards the right hallway, gesturing to another door that was next to what she assumed was Harry's room - from the order Tom called their names in. "This is the lounge, the proper one. I saw you looking at the one downstairs, I only have clients wait there until I'm free to speak with them, sometimes my meetings run over - but I tend to stay on schedule most of the time," he turned to face her again, tilting his head to catch her eye "Evenings are mostly spent here if we aren't out for drinks, it's where all the gaming consoles are, the pool table, etcetera etcetera.." he trailed off before taking her hand again and leading her towards the 2 remaining doors at the end of the hallway. "The end door, is my room, just like my office is the end door on the other side of the house. Again, I shouldn't need to say, but don't go in there unless I ask you to, which I highly doubt will happen, it's entirely inappropriate. But nevertheless, it needs to be said." he huffed before turning to the door on your left.

"And this...will be your room. Feel free to decorate it however you'd like, change the bedding, hang up posters or photos and whatnot. I can't expect you to live here if you feel like your room isn't your own. That would be...unkind of me." Unkind of him? As if he isn't Londons biggest mob boss known for inflicting serious harm to people without more than a squint? Laughable. Y/N thought, she nodded before he grasped the strap of her bag and handed it to her. "Feel free to use the kitchen whenever you need. I heard you say you hadn't eaten earlier so feel free to make yourself something when you've settled in. It's always fully stocked and nothing belongs to anyone so don't worry about causing any issues in eating someone's food. Mi casa es su casa and whatnot." He turned his head to face you again, the same flash from earlier passing his eyes "Tea, too. And coffee. The coffee machine is timed anyway, makes a fresh pot at 7am every morning, and refills when it's empty as long as you refill the grounds and close the compartment. There's a lot of late nights around here, caffeine is very much needed for some of us." But considering what my job is here, I'm going to guess you're not one of them Y/N thought.

She craned her neck to look up at him, noticing he was a lot closer than he was before. "And if you need anything, don't hesitate to text the number I gave you earlier. You won't be bothering me. I'll see you in the morning then, my office at 9am. Don't worry about clothes, as long as you aren't wearing anything too casual, like joggers or pyjamas. It'll be fine." Tom grunted before giving her a swift nod and heading towards his office. "Oh, and Y/N?" She spun to look at him, hand on the doorknob to her bedroom. "I hope you sleep well." He said, almost a whisper, before he swiftly turned and took off in long strides towards the door once again.

I swear this man has two personalities, she thought, how can someone be so harsh one minute then concerned the next in a split second change? She sighed to herself and twisted the doorknob, opening the door to where she now, I guess, called home. It was a lovely room, and very much her aesthetic, black interior matching the rest of the house. An en suite directly to her right whilst a TV and long cabinet resided to her left. In front of her was more ceiling to floor windows, with doors opening onto a balcony, and on the right beside them, a king size bed, engulfed in black satin sheets. Y/N sighed again, realising how tired she'd gotten, before checking her phone to see it was almost 2am. She had to be up, ready and in Toms office in 7 hours. She groaned internally before closing the bedroom door and setting her bag down on the bed - rummaging through it for an oversized t-shirt before pulling off her jacket and work clothes and replacing them with the t-shirt. She unzipped the pocket of her jacket that now sat crumpled on the floor and took out the slightly bent packet of cigarettes, lighter also shoved inside the box, before heading towards the doors and setting foot onto the balcony.

The balcony held a view of the centre of London on the horizon, a blanket of glimmering lights and low rumbling, though what would usually be irritating and too loud - it calmed Y/N, realising she could look upon the city she seemingly loved without being in the hustle and bustle of it all. As she lit the cigarette and took a long drag, she wondered how one night could have landed her here right now - despite the fact she'd made this choice for herself in an attempt to do something new, and after realising she'd reached the end of the cigarette, she threw the end into the ashtray on the balcony railing and closed the doors behind her, feet padding softly towards the ever inviting bed, and as she closed her eyes, she dreamt of bourbon, cigarette smoke and chocolate eyes framed by one lone brown curl.

-

Word Count: 3060 words.

A/N: ill try and update tomorrow or the next day, I have no idea if anyone's even read this or if my accidental viewing it as a reader are the 6 views it has lmao, so I always appreciate feedback if anyone's reading this!! 😌


	3. Mr. Milani.

Y/N awoke the next morning startled by the blaring of her phone, the incessant screech of her alarm raising her from her slumber of cut-throat jawlines and brown leather jackets. She pushed herself up from the mattress and swung her legs out, her feet hitting the ground with a soft thud. It took her a few minutes to realise that she wasn't awaking in her dingy central London apartment, but instead the home of none other than Tom Holland, as the events of the previous nights came rushing back to her.

Springing to a start, briefly remembering her duties, after hopping in the shower quickly and drying off her hair, she threw it up into a quick signature high ponytail, pulling down the flyaway hairs to frame her face as she always does, before rummaging through her holdall for something acceptable to wear - finally settling on a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, and a black silk shirt printed with golden suns and moons. Pulling her Doc Martens on, and attaching her jean chain to the belt loops, she flicked on some mascara and lip balm - adjusting the multiple rings on her fingers and making sure her necklace was straight, before huffing a short breath and yanking open the bedroom door - making the short journey from one side of the house to the other.

Y/N didn't get too far down the short hallway however, because after only a couple of doors she ran straight into a very dishevelled looking Harrison, evidently extremely hungover, adorned in nothing but a simple pair of black sweatpants. "Oh FUCK. Jesus Christ, the barmaid? What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, evidently startled at her presence in his home, before something more cheeky flashed over his face. "WAIT. Did you and Tom-" Y/N immediately threw her hands up in shock "No! No. God no. What kind of woman do you take me for, Harrison?" giving him a brief scowl before continuing "He asked me to work as a live-in bartender last night, saying he could pay me much more than the pub could - didn't tell me I'd be living here until I was already in his car though. Imagine my surprise."

Harrison chuckled, laying a warm, muscular arm around her shoulders before guiding her towards the stairs and down them. "Yeah, sounds like Tom. He's always leaving things out that he doesn't think are necessary, he's a bit blind to all of that." pausing to take a mug out of the cabinet, and waving it at Y/N, who swiftly checked the time and nodded. She still had 15 minutes before she had to be in Toms office. It seems she can't get out of the habit of arriving early everywhere. "He's very much a get up and go person, doesn't realise a lot of people actually like to consider things like where they live and who they associate themselves with. He doesn't really get attached to anything so he's entirely willing to drop everything in a split second decision. You'll get used to it though, I'm sure. He's not so bad when you pick up on his mannerisms." Harrison gave her a soft smile before sliding over a mug of coffee to Y/N, who took a small sip and quirked her eyebrow at him. 

"How did you know how I liked my coffee? Lucky guess or have you been spying on me?" She chuckled, being entirely NOT serious until Harrison paused for a minute, taking a sharp breath before turning back to her, away from his own mug. "Tom may have been watching you for a short while, which is why we didn't exactly blend into your pub all too well." before raising a hand before Y/N could speak, her mouth hanging open, closing again before gesturing for him to continue. "I don't know why. He doesn't tell anyone much of anything. It's not been super weird though. Only when you're out on the street. I was usually there in the mornings, enough to see you ordering your coffee on your way to classes or work." he paused for a second "Fuck. I probably should've asked about your coffee so you didn't know. Tom's gonna kill me if he finds out you know." Harrison mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows, as if he was already calculating ways he could get out of the situation. 'She forced me to tell her!' he'd say. Right. As if that would work. Y/N chuckled at the image in her head before waving a hand as close to Harrison as she could. 

"I won't tell him you told me. I'm sure I'll get it out of him one day, if I'm going to be spending every day stood by his side, I'd like to know him a lot better than I currently do." A grin on her face, she reached out towards him again, holding out her pinky finger for him to take. "Promise. Your word vomit is safe with me, dude. What do you take me for? A snitch?" He grasped her pinky finger with his own before grinning back at her, raising the mug to his lips and taking a large gulp of the contents before setting it down. "I like you, y'know. You're not timid like the others. I hope Tom decides to keep you around, you could take turns bullying him with me in your spare time." Harrison chuckled again before wiggling his eyebrows, Y/N laughed back before looking down at her phone.

"I better go. '9am sharp!' Mr. Holland said, he might have me shot." She whispered the last part, after the silly emphasised accent she'd put on 'Mr.Holland' and grabbed her mug before starting to make her way towards the stairs, swiftly turning on her heel to face Harrison once more. "Should I grab him a coffee? Do you think he'd be angry if I didn't bring him one? I don't exactly want to piss him off before the day's even started, y'know?" Harrison shook his head. "You're a barmaid, love. Not a receptionist. Now go, before he really DOES shoot you for being late." He pointed towards the left hallway landing with a smirk, which Y/N returned before quickly rushing up the stairs, being mindful of the coffee in her hand, and making her way towards the dark wooden door at the end of the dimly lit hallway.

-

Knocking softly on the door, and hearing a familiar solemn voiced "Enter." Y/N pushed the door open, only to come face to face with Tom for the first time since his hushed 'Sleep well.' the night before, and it didn't take her long to drink in his drastic change in appearance. Instead of the casual leather jacket, t-shirt and jean combo she'd met him in last night, he was now dressed in a crisp white shirt, and tight legged black suit pants, with a matching slim tie, his Vans from the night before switched with combat boots similar to Harrisons, only...classier. His hair was gelled back, and a cigarette hung between his thin lips - a pair of glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose, as he once again scribbled away at the paper beneath him, probably unaware of who had even entered his office, before he glanced up - double taking her presence, before resting back in the office chair he was sat in. "Ah. Y/N. Good morning. Did you sleep well? Was the room alright?" quirking an eyebrow at her. He sounded immediately softer than he had before she'd opened the door, and she gave him a soft smile. "Morning, Tom. I did, the room is lovely. I spent a short while on the balcony before I went to bed. The view is incredible. If not for anything else, I understand why you chose this place to live in."

He held her gaze for a short moment before looking back down at his papers and pointing beside his desk, beckoning for her to stand beside him. "Did you sleep well?" she asked, returning the question- hoping she hadn't left it too long to be deemed as rude. "I don't sleep much, so no, because I didn't sleep at all. I was in here all night, left about 7am to shower and change before coming back. I've been here ever since." Y/N frowned slightly, wondering if he'd slept at all recently, but also wondering if he'd heard her run into Harrison on the landing. It was a very empty house after all, and the sheer size of it left no room for noise cancelling. She blushed at the last thought, wondering if anyone had ever heard someone else perhaps performing some late night activities-

"Can you grab me a generous glass of Bulleit, please, darling? I'm already not having a very good day and I have a client in 10 minutes. A difficult one, and I'd much rather settle the disagreement and keep him on board rather than...get rid of him." His tone hardened on the last part as he turned his head towards the cabinet behind her, beside it was a small table - covered in glasses and a full ice bucket. Y/N wondered if he had a maid fill it up with ice every morning, or if he'd done it himself. Was she supposed to do that too? Does he even have a maid?

"Y/N." Tom snapped her out of her thoughts, and she swiftly placed the mug on the small table before opening the cabinet and pouring him a drink, timidly handing it to him as he leaned back in his chair once more, taking a small sip from the glass and closing his eyes, sighing at what she could only assume was the burn of a 9am sip of hard alcohol. "How do you even drink this early in a morning? And how do you not end up entirely plastered halfway through your day, especially if you go out drinking into the night too, and then you don't even sleep afterwards-" Toms head snapped to her, she was asking too many questions. "Well don't look at me like that Tom, it's a perfectly acceptable question. Do you not drink water through the day too?" And oh boy, was that the wrong response to the look he gave her. "Miss Y/L/N, I'd highly appreciate if you veer your thoughts away from my drinking habits and how I deal with them, and focus on what you're here for." He gestured to a seat that she hadn't noticed beside him, and she wondered if she should take it. Should she even be here for meetings with clients? Would she not know too much then?

Y/N was pulled out of her thoughts once again by Tom clearing his throat, gesturing once more to the chair beside him. She sat, crossing one leg over the other and placing her hands softly on her lap, intertwining her fingers. How are you supposed to sit in a mob boss' office when a client is coming in to speak with him about business? Timidly, to show you pose no threat? Professionally, so you look like you belong? God help her, Tom probably could've give her a heads up or something. She knows nothing about this life, let alone how to act when you're in the midst of it. It wasn't too long that Y/N spent wondering how to sit before there was another knock on the door, and with a swift confirmation from Tom, Harrison appeared from behind it, now suited and booted in a suit similar to Tom, with the same combat boots. Y/N smiled, it was almost cute, matching outfits for the mob boss and his right hand man, she thought. She nodded at Harrison, who nodded back before turning back to Tom and saying "Milani for you, boss." Boss, she thought, that's the first time Harrison referred to him professionally. "Of course. Send him in." Tom replied, as he stood up from his chair and made his way around the desk, Harrison moving aside as Tom perched against the front of the desk.

A broad man entered the room, he was tall, maybe just over 6 foot, with jet black hair split with a white stripe. Olive skinned, with piercing blue eyes. A stunning man, Y/N thought. He must've been in his mid-40's, though his age didn't show too much, as his skin was still tight and there wasn't a wrinkle in sight, though he was evidently older than Tom and Harrison, he had an aura of maturity around him, as if he was wise beyond his years. "Severino." Tom nodded as he took the mans hand. Severino, Y/N thought, that's Italian for stern. She'd spent her spare time during her university years studying languages, hoping to broaden her CV in hopes of finding better jobs, at least it was coming in handy somehow, though this isn't where she thought that situation would arise. Y/N stifled a chuckle at how fitting the name was, and both of the mens heads snapped round to her, still grasping each others hands. "Sorry, shit, sorry." Y/N babbled. "I studied Italian, I just thought your name was very fitting...sir?" For fuck sake. Babbling nonsense again. She couldn't remain calm around Tom, no matter how hard she tried.

"Who's your lady friend, Holland? She's new." Severino smirked at her, almost as if he was eyeing up his prey, looking her up and down. "Not why you're here, Milani. Please, sit." Tom veered the attention away from her, much to her appreciation, and he cleared his throat, and it was then that Y/N remembered she had a job to do. "Oh, yes, right. Uh, would you like a drink, Mr. Milani?" Y/N rambled, maybe she'd drank her coffee too fast. "Please, call me Severino. Mr. Milani sounds so...executive." She nodded, and waited for him to respond to her question. "Double Scotch, the nice bottle that Tom hides so poorly at the back of the cabinet, if you will. The one with the gold label." Tom grimaced, a nerve obviously being hit. "Do you just cause issues so you can come here and drink my finest alcohol without paying for it, Milani?" he spat, already seemingly losing his temper. There was evidently unspoken issues between the two of them, and the atmosphere in the room was incredibly tense. 

Y/N thought she might explode from the pressure, though instead - she attempted to diffuse it. "A wonderful choice, Severino." she purred, entirely unlike her, but she knew from the look he gave her earlier - this may actually work. "A wonderfully expensive choice, for a wonderfully expensive man. There's no scraping the bottom of the barrel with you two, huh? Always the best for the best." She placed the tumbler in front of Milani, before turning on her heel and topping up Toms glass, extremely generously may she add, she could almost see his jaw about to rip through his skin.

"Business. Enough talk, please, darling." Tom glanced at her, an edge of curiosity in his eyes at the stunt she pulled, though it seemed to work, as his rage dissolved and he sunk back in his chair, turning his gaze to Milani, who had the glass raised to his lips. After taking a small sip, Milani spoke up, his tone dripping with confidence "Holland, you understand we're having this meeting because you're trying to take over my turf as if I haven't noticed. Intercepting deliveries, kidnapping my lower down men for information and then releasing them with a pay off not to say anything. I have eyes everywhere you know." 

Toms jaw clenched again, as his right arm folded over to his left side, and it was now that Y/N realised not only was he adorned in a crisp suit, but under his jacket was a gun holster, and Toms hand was ghosting over the pistol against his left ribs. "And I'd like you to understand, Severino, that you're currently in MY home. I'd advise you to pick your words carefully. Your name isn't written across the South Side, and you know for a fact that it was Holland turf first, before the ridiculous pussy-footing from my father allowed you to take it from us. So why should I be concerned about taking back what's rightfully mine?" His grip tightened around the gun, finger snaking towards the trigger, Y/N's breath caught in her throat, before quickly realising to not draw attention to what was happening. Was she about to witness Tom shooting someone? Or was it just a precaution? Was Severino not to be trusted?

Though her thoughts were answered quickly when both men shot from their seats, Toms falling backwards as they pointed their respective guns at eachother. This has seemingly been a long time coming, and at that moment, Y/N had no clue what to do. Should she remain quiet, or intervene? If only she could call Harrison, he'd know what to do in this situation, however for all Y/N knew he might join in.

As if her thoughts were spoken aloud, Harrison burst through the door, flanked by Sam and Harry, also in suits. Y/N remained plastered to the chair, peering up at Tom from below him, his jaw once again looking like it was about to burst through the skin. "Not one move from you, Milani. It's a good thing I heard the fucking chair hit the floor, isn't it? I knew you were up to no fucking good. Snaky little bastard."

Milani turned to face Harrison, keeping his gun on Tom, and snarled, almost like a dog. "The Holland empire will fall one day. I'm telling you. It's coming. More than you already know. And before you know it? Your precious Tom Holland will fall before you, and YOU," he spat, gesturing at the three men stood in the doorway, "will have NOWHERE to turn to, NOWHERE. I will not take you, the others will not take you. You'll be fucking LOST without him and he's walking on thin ice, and you know it-" and before another word could be said, Milani's brains were suddenly splattered on the wall beside him, of course - by Tom, who was now gripping the pistol so tight his knuckles were a bright white. 

Y/N was frozen, she peered down at the crumpled body, leaking crimson all over the carpet - and raised her hand to her mouth. She couldn't scream, she didn't dare. Shock overcame her all too quickly, and before she knew it, her hand was leaving her mouth and resting on Toms bicep. She desperately stared at the side of his face, hoping for him to turn his gaze from the corpse on the floor to her instead - to calm down - which eventually, he did. His gaze softened as he gripped her elbow with his spare hand, waving a hand at Harrison and the twins to obviously get rid of the body which was resting between them.

"Are you alright, darling?" he breathed, a harsh look of concern on his face as Y/N stared at him, wide eyed. "I- I think so? It all happened so fast, I didn't know if- What did- What?" She babbled, as Tom threw the pistol on the table and lowered her back down into the chair she didn't even realise she'd shot up from. "Just breathe, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't want to do anything like that in front of you. I imagined I'd send you out of the room on some menial errand before doing something like that. That's not what you signed up for."

Y/N's ears perked, and she turned her eyes back to him from the floor. "But it is, Tom. I took your proposal knowing what you do. All Jim mentioned last night is how ruthless you were, harming people without batting an eyelid. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. Don't apologise, please. I should've been more prepared, I should've seen it coming. I could feel it."

Tom sighed, pushing his fingers through his hair, causing it to fall out of its once gelled up place, that one lone curl now falling into his vision. "You're right, but I still wished you didn't have to actually witness it." He cleared his throat, offering her a cigarette from the pack that lay beside him, which she took, and he leant forward and held the Zippo lighter between the two of them, lighting both cigarettes simultaneously.

-

The rest of the day passed in a blur, Y/N getting up and down repeatedly to pour another drink, whether it be for Tom or a client, and it wasn't long before Tom was gathering the papers from his desk and shoving them into a drawer, locking it behind him. "Are you hungry? I'm absolutely starving. The least I could do is make you some food as an apology for earlier." Now that Y/N thought about it, she realised she hadn't eaten since yesterday lunchtime, and with that thought came a coincidental groan from her belly - crying out that she too, was also starving. "I'll take that as a yes, then." Tom chuckled, glancing down to her belly and back up to her face. 

Making their way from the stairs to the kitchen, Y/N took a seat at the breakfast bar, resting her head in her hands. She had no idea how she was still standing after what she'd witnessed earlier, and she wondered if it hadn't set in enough yet for her emotions to spill over, and when she raised her head again, she opened her eyes to see Tom placing a plate of spaghetti in front of her. How long had she had her head down? Had he cooked in silence that entire time?

"Please, eat. You look exhausted." Tom whispered, watching her as she lifted the fork towards her mouth, and before long, both plates were clean and in the dishwasher. "Tom? Are you..busy after this?" She asked, wondering if he'd be heading back to his office. "Considering I didn't sleep last night, I was about to wind down and try and get at least some form of rest. Why?" he quirked an eyebrow in her direction.

"I was just wondering if you...maybe wanted to sit with me outside? I think I just need some air, and it looks nice out tonight, but I don't really want to sit alone." There was a ghost of a smile on Toms lips, and something flashed across his eyes. "Of course. I want you to feel nothing but comfortable here, and if that means sitting outside, then I'll gladly oblige. I agree, anyway, it is nice out tonight. I was only going to sit on my balcony alone anyway." He raised a hand, which she gracefully took, before they headed behind the staircase and out onto the patio together.

Y/N closed her eyes and tilted her head back, taking in the fresh air and low rumble of the distant city, before hearing a sharp exhale beside her. She turned to the side to notice Tom was looking at her, hand on his chin, rubbing a non-existent beard, before catching himself and gesturing for her to sit on the cushioned swing that overlooked the garden. "Despite me knowing your name, amongst other things, I don't know much else about you darling." he began "Why don't you tell me a little more? If you're going to be living here after all, I should probably know more about you, Harrison tells me I need to pay more attention to other people."

Y/N giggled. Giggled? Jesus fucking christ. "Well, I'm 22, if you didn't know already. I'm an only child, and I'm actually from Manchester, believe it or not." She smirked across at him as he raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound like you're from Manchester. Aren't Mancunians all 'y'alright r kid?' and all that bollocks?" Y/N cackled at his awful impression of a Mancunian accent. "Yeah, something like that." she said between chuckles, "I get told that a lot though, I guess I just grew up being told to pronounce my t's and such so much that I ended up creating my own accent, I've never lived anywhere else and both of my parents are from Manchester so I have no idea why I sound the way I do." She passed another small smile to Tom, who smiled back at her from behind his hand, seemingly listening deeply. "I'm not really sure what else to say, I'm not really all that interesting." Y/N was shy now, realising how different the two were. Tom had lead a life of danger and drama, something happening at every turn, whereas Y/N hadn't really done much of anything at all.

"What about a boyfriend? Friends?" Tom quipped back, readjusting his position, a look on his face Y/N recognised as a hint of embarrassment, had he thought he'd been too forward? Too personal? "No," she laughed "No boyfriend. I don't really have the time, I'm always working. My regulars are my boyfriends, I know more about them than I know about anyone else." They both laughed at that, Tom laughing louder than she'd ever heard him laugh before, his eyes twinkling and creases appearing either side of them. Y/N blushed and continued "I don't really have many friends though, there's Jay from the bar, he's been my friend for the past 5 years, I started working at the pub when I was 18 - that's where we met. We've been inseparable ever since." It dawned on Y/N then that she hadn't spoken to Jay since she'd left the pub that night, and he was probably worried sick about her. "And if you could count Steve as a friend, then him too. He took me under his wing as soon as I hit 18, taught me everything I know from running the bar to every type of alcohol you could think of. I'm like a walking encyclopaedia of booze."

Tom chuckled, offering her another cigarette which she refused, and there they sat in silence, Y/N's eyes feeling heavier and heavier as the seconds passed, and before she knew it, her head had slumped sideways across the seat, landing on a very shocked Tom Holland, who pushed the stray hairs from her face and tilted his head to rest on hers, looking out over the horizon of his empire.

-

Word Count: 4394

A/N: Hi! This AN won't be long I promise. (AN: I lied.) Just here to say once again, if you have any suggestions or anything, whether its about the plot or the way I write, please do leave a comment attached to my ANs! I'd love to read any feedback, like I said a few notes ago, it's my first time writing online and nobody has ever read my work before, so I've never had any feedback, I could write awfully for all I know lmao.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm gonna get started on the next one immediately because I'm impatient with my own book and I feel like y'all will enjoy it more if I put out chapters every day or so. I lost my job due to COVID so I've currently got all the time in the world to write, so if I know people are interested in this book it'll definitely motivate me to write every day or so and in turn, y'all will keep me sane lmao 

Also please let me know if the chapters are too long or too short, I just keep writing and writing and writing and I usually stop myself around the 3.5k word mark or I fear people will get bored of reading:')

Again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you're enjoying it! I really enjoy writing this and I've got a super good flow of ideas at the moment so there's MUCH more drama to come, I didn't wanna just start shooting out drama immediately in case the book moved too fast. I'll try and finish the next chapter by tomorrow, I might even upload it tonight if I finish it in time. Again for like the 3rd time, THANK YOU FOR READING <3


	4. Black, please.

Y/N awoke more peacefully than the day before, as she woke naturally rather than by the blaring of her phone alarm. It wasn't until she attempted to swing her legs out of the bed that she realised there was a weight over her stomach, and with a slow turn of her head she realised it was none other than Toms arm - he was resting peacefully beside her, and upon closer inspection, she realised that she wasn't in her own bedroom, but seemingly HIS.

A hushed gasp left her mouth, as she lay half strewn across the mattress, still slanted from attempting to get out of bed. Y/N glanced over at the clock on the bedside table behind Tom's head, reading '7:26AM' and she settled back down onto her left side, pulling her legs back under the sheets and away from the chill of the winter morning. Turning her head, she glanced at Tom again. He was snoring softly, his hair sticking out in every direction, and his face looked calm - calmer than she'd ever seen it. There was no tension in his forehead, his lips were loose instead of his usual tight near-grimace, and his jaw lay slack, face half buried in the pillow under his head. It wasn't long before he spoke, startling Y/N, eyes still closed. "You just really enjoy staring at me, don't you darling?" Morning voice harsh, it rumbled from his chest, sparking a warm feeling in Y/N's stomach, the tips of her ears blazing red hot. "Sorry, shit. I didn't know you were awake." He cracked open one eye halfway, looking at her - her face now flushed pink. "I wasn't, I felt you staring at me. You kinda pick up those senses when you've got a target on your back at all times." His mouth turning up crookedly at the corner.

Y/N blushed more, embarrassed by the fact she'd been caught. If he wasn't aware she found him attractive before, he definitely knew now. No, what? Shut the FUCK up, Y/N. You can't find him attractive. He's DANGEROUS. But did she really believe that? He was softer with her, almost like he let his walls down in her presence when they were alone. She began to move before he tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, much to her surprise. "No," he groaned "Stay a little longer. It's early, it's warm. I'm comfy." Y/N opened her mouth, and then it closed again, like a fish. She could feel his breath on her face, and the heat of his skin on hers, their chests were touching, as were their legs. "What am I doing here anyway? We were in the garden and-" Tom opened both eyes now, sighing, now fully awake. "And you fell asleep in a matter of seconds, which I'm not surprised at. You were exhausted, love. I don't blame you after yesterdays...festivities." He ghosted his hand up her back, resting between her shoulder blades, then moved back down to the small of her back where his hand lay earlier.

"We stayed there a little while, I just looked out over London, but you started twitching and mumbling, a nightmare- I think. I didn't want to leave you alone in a house you didn't know, with people you barely know, and it was getting cold, so I carried you up here." He held her gaze for a short moment, his pupils dilating for a split second before shrinking back to normal. "I was going to stay on the sofa, or in one of the guest rooms, but as soon as I put you down you started mumbling and twitching again, so I got you more comfortable, and I stayed."

It was at this point that Y/N realised she wasn't in her clothes from the previous day, but instead was lay in nothing but her underwear and a long t-shirt. One that was not hers. "I didn't look, I promise. I couldn't let you sleep in something so tight and uncomfortable, you'd be aching today if I did. It's just an old t-shirt of mine, I don't wear it often." She looked at Tom again for the first time since he'd opened both eyes, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're not so scary after all, y'know Holland? I think you're actually quite soft on the inside. Though, what would Harrison or the twins think if they saw me leaving your room in your t-shirt this morning?" she smirked at him, and he stared at her for a moment, letting out a slow breath as he scanned her face. "Which is why I've called a meeting for this morning and pushed back my appointments until tomorrow. As far as they know, I want to talk about Milani - but it'll give you a chance to go back to your own room and get ready. They'll never know." 

He'd really thought of everything in the split second decision of staying with her last night, though Harrison had mentioned he was like that, doing everything at the drop of a hat yet knowing exactly what he was doing. Tom put a finger under her chin, tilting her head back up, as she realised her view had cascaded down to his chest in thought. "I have some errands to do today anyway, you can come with me if you'd like. See what this life is outside of the office?" She smiled up at him, they were dangerously close now, noses almost touching. His eyes flicked down to her lips, finger tracing from her chin along her jawline until he reached a strand of hair on her face, tucking it behind her ear. "I..That would be lovely...Tom." Y/N stuttered. Was he aware of how close they were? She could practically taste him. She hoped he couldn't feel her heartbeat through their touching chests, which was banging loudly against her ribcage. Y/N had no idea what this man was doing to her, but it was something, but whether it was good or not? She had no clue.

"I'd say dress comfortable, less office attire and more 'shopping trip with the girls' y'know? Comfortable. Trainers and such. Though I have no doubt you'll look lovely no matter what you wear, I just want you to be comfortable." Comfortable. He's used that word a lot the past 2 days. How comfortable did he want her to feel? "Of course," she began, peering over his neck at the clock again. "It's almost 8, you know? I assume your meeting is soon?" and with a jolt, Tom snapped his head around to the clock. "Shit. Shitshitshitshit." He leapt out of bed, and Y/N couldn't help but notice he was only in his boxers, tight ones at that, and JESUS that arse. She quickly averted her eyes, looking around for anything that seemed acceptable to look at. "I know you were just looking at me darling, I don't mind." He smirked over his back at her, pulling a black t-shirt over his head before yanking a pair of jeans over his legs, slipping on some boots and ruffling his hair in the mirror. "I'll have to just grab a drink and some aftershave, brush my teeth and shower after or I'm going to be late and someone will come looking for me. Wouldn't want that now, would we?" He glanced cheekily over at Y/N, who was sitting up in the bed now - grasping the silk sheets tightly around her figure.

Tom's face faltered slightly, slowly looking her up and down, before squinting and waving his hand. "Come on darling, up and at 'em, don't waste the day away lounging around in my bed. They'll expect to see you come down for breakfast." And at that, Y/N shot up, almost forgetting the charade they were putting on - pulling on her jeans that were neatly folded on the dresser across from the bed and grasping her shirt and bra in the other hand, one handedly pulling on her shoes. "Yes, yes of course. Now go! Quickly. I'll see you in a minute." She grinned as she turned to check herself in the mirror, Tom leaving swiftly through the bedroom door, his footsteps receding down the hallway and down the staircase. Y/N opened the bedroom door, she could hear Tom giving his good mornings to what she could only assume was Harrison, Harry and Sam - as well as the rest of his close team, before she swiftly crept across the landing and into her own room.

-

Spinning around in front of the mirror, Y/N could only describe her mood as giddy. She'd never woken up beside another man before, she'd never really been the boyfriend type - and any man she'd ever slept with left immediately after or were gone before she woke up the next morning. She was too busy for relationships - balancing schoolwork and the pub left her no time to socialise, let alone invite another person into her life. It was an odd feeling to say the least, she never imagined herself waking up next to ANYONE - let alone the infamous Tom Holland.

Y/N took in her appearance in the mirror, a tight black long sleeved turtle neck, tucked into a pair of black denim distressed shorts, paired with black sheer lace printed floral tights and her usual Doc Martens. She threw on her camouflage jacket, and shoved her packet of cigarettes and lighter on the inside pocket, fixing her high ponytail and checking her makeup before spritzing herself with perfume. She felt unusually pretty today, although she was a pretty girl - it was rare she actually felt that way. Maybe it was the giddiness from the morning with Tom, or maybe she actually did feel pretty. Either way, Y/N grabbed her phone from the dresser before heading towards the bedroom door and downstairs. 

Tom was stood in the middle of the small sitting area, surrounded by his men on the sofas and armchairs. Harrison noticed her appearance and quirked an eyebrow, maybe wondering why she was dressed so casually, or maybe wondering why she was only appearing now after everyone else was already downstairs. She gave him a shy smile and headed towards the kitchen counter, pouring herself a coffee before catching Toms eye. Whatever he had been saying before he'd looked at her, had paused, as he stopped mid-sentence to take in her outfit. She waved a mug at him and he nodded, uttering a small "Black, please." before turning his attention back to his men.

Y/N busied herself with making the two coffees, catching the odd words drifting across the room from the briefing. "Milani...disturbance...empire...turf..." before quickly zoning out as to not intrude too much, and grabbing the mugs, putting her own down on the breakfast bar before cautiously heading towards Tom - holding the mug out, which he took and passed her a soft smile in thanks, before continuing his talk. As she turned, Harrison raised an eyebrow at her, and she hoped he wasn't catching onto something, before her glance flicked to the twins - who were whispering to eachother, sparing short glances at her and chuckling. Cheeks red, Y/N headed back towards the breakfast bar, perching on the stool before picking up the mug and spinning to face Tom.

He was evidently not expecting her to face him, as they caught eyes and he stumbled over his words. She could see Harrison holding back a smirk in the corner of her eye, he's caught onto something, she thought. She smiled into her mug, holding eye contact with Tom before placing the mug beside her and pulling out her phone to text Jay.

Surprisingly, he hadn't called her to ask where the hell she was - though there were two texts on her screen, one from Jay, and one from Steve. She opened the one from Steve first, hoping it wasn't a bollocking for not turning up to work last night - she'd entirely forgot to tell him about Tom and his proposal, and hoped he wasn't too angry, however she was pleasantly surprised when his text informed her that Tom had spoke to him and notified him of the situation, and he wished her good luck and to stay safe, saying he could handle the pub with just him and Jay more than easily enough - noting that if she ever needed him, whether it was for help or to come back to the pub, he'd be there and welcome her with open arms.

Y/N smiled to herself, Steve had always been immensely kind to her, and a huge father figure in her life. He'd been there when she was struggling on assignments, or failing them, always when passing them - praising her on her hard work, he'd been there when her relationship with her parents turned rocky, and whenever she'd said something mean to Jay and needed to fix it. Jay, she thought, I better see what he texted me for.

Unsurprisingly, the text from Jay was similar to Steve's, however it was much less professional and more demanding to know the gossip. 'Oh my FUCKING god, why didn't you tell me?' the first part read, and after a rambling about how exciting it seemed and how lucky she was - ended with 'Bitch, you better fucking call me when you're free and tell me EVERYTHING. And I mean, EVERYTHING. I'll be waiting for that video call. LOVE YOU.' She chuckled, and Toms head snapped up from his men to her, raising an eyebrow with the ghost of a smirk on his face. She raised a hand in apology for interrupting, and he squinted at her before turning back. She typed back a quick reply to Jay, part apology for not telling him and part gushing that she had SO much to tell him - before telling him she loved him too, and putting her phone back in her pocket, picking the mug back up and slowly sipping away at her fresh coffee whilst she watched Tom talk with his hands, moving back and forth across the room, looking seemingly less stern as the minutes passed the more he caught her eye.

-

Word Count: 2361

A/N: This chapter was only a lot shorter because I didn't want to split up the next part over 2 chapters, as the part in this chapter would've only been a few paragraphs before putting it in the next chapter and it felt out of place. HOWEVER, I'm on a ROLL so the next chapter is being typed write after I finish typing this and will be up either tonight or tomorrow lmao.

And again, if you've read this far, THANK YOU, I LOVE YOU <3


	5. Louboutin Red.

After Tom's men had dispersed, Y/N was about to stand from the bar stool before realising Tom was already halfway over to her, a smirk plastered across his face. "You look lovely, I told you that you would." he said in a hushed voice, being mindful of Harrison stood by the sofa talking to Sam and Harry. He placed the mug down at the side of her, before glancing down at her legs. Though he was looking down, with the fact Tom towered over her, she could still see his eyes. His pupils dilated again, before he glanced back up to her face - a guarded expression on his face, before clearing his throat. "We'll eat while we're out, I need to talk to you anyway, so it would be nice to actually sit down and talk rather than do it while I'm dragging you around the city." He passed her a bottle of water, before grabbing one for himself and ushering her out of the door. She threw a quick goodbye to the men stood by the sofa, who looked startled at the fact she was leaving with Tom, and made her way towards the passenger side of the car - before Tom jumped in front of her, clicking the keys and opening the door for her.

"I'm a gentleman, darling. You should know this by now." He responded when she'd raised her eyebrow at him, her brain reeling back to him pushing open the door from the inside the first day they'd met, and making his way around to her side of the car - helping her out not long after. She smiled and lowered herself into the seat, whilst he shut her door and made his way round to the drivers side. It was a short drive back into the city centre, and Y/N was shocked at how quickly grass and large manors turned into towering blocks of apartments and bustling main roads.

They drove straight through the very centre of London, before making their way towards the other side - closer to Camden Town, as Tom parked up the car. Y/N knew to wait this time as once again, he made his way round to her side of the car and opened the door for her, extending a hand like he did last time. She smiled as he pulled her out of the car - standing chest to chest with her, glancing around - as if to protect her from the traffic speeding up and down the road, before offering his arm to her, which she took.

They walked in comfortable silence through the street, which for a Sunday morning, were extremely loud, coming to a stop by a small café. Tom gestured towards the door, allowing her to enter first, and they walked towards the counter together. "This has always been my favourite place for breakfast or lunch," he turned to her grinning "Nothing beats their pastries. I've never had anything that even comes close to them." She smiled at the reappearance of his softer side, before turning to the woman behind the counter and ordering a vanilla custard stuffed croissant and an iced coffee, scowling at Tom when he insisted he pay for both their orders.

Sitting down at a small table outside, Y/N turned to Tom, who almost seemed like he'd forgot she was there as he looked to the side, out across the busy street, almost as if he was taking in every person and car that passed by. For the third time today, she took in his appearance. He managed to look incredible in anything he wore, even as casually as he was dressed now. Everything suited him so well, and those stupid fucking combat boots made him look even more incredible. Could boots do that alone? Apparently so. "That's the third time I've caught you staring at me today, darling." Tom smirked from behind his cup, other hand resting over his danish.

"Sorry, you just look so different at all points of the day. Like, comparing yesterday in your office, this morning when I woke up and now...It's hard to believe you're...well, what you are." Y/N whispered, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention from passers-by if she said MOB BOSS out loud, as if a huge blinking sign would appear above their heads.

"If I looked the same all the time, I'd never surprise anyone darling, let alone seduce anyone." He quirked an eyebrow at her and she choked on her drink. He laughed before speaking up again. "Relax, love. I was kidding. Though I am greatly honoured to know you're constantly looking me up and down, it's quite the compliment." Y/N blushed into her cup, wondering if he'd noticed all the other times she'd glanced at him when he wasn't looking, which was a LOT.

"It's not like you don't look at me too, Tom. I see you. You ain't so slick." He scoffed at that, looking her dead in the eye before replying "Because I want you to know I'm looking at you." Y/N remained silent at that, left entirely speechless. Why did he want her to know he was looking at her? And after a few seconds, she put down her cup and averted her gaze to the street, trying to change the conversation. "So, what did you have to talk to me about that was oh-so-important that you couldn't do it at home?" At home, she'd said. Tom had noticed too, as something flashed over his face before he regained his composure. "I have a gala, tomorrow night. I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me, to be my date per se."

Y/N sputtered out her coffee again, and he laughed, again. "I'm going to kill myself if you keep launching things like that at me whilst I'm drinking, Tom." She scowled at him and he laughed more. "Why me? Do you not have a girlfriend or anything? Any close friends to take? I'm sure Harrison would look very pretty in a nice sparkly dress." It was Tom that choked on his drink this time, shooting a playful glare at her across the table. "I'm sure he would, but I'd rather someone else be the prettiest girl at the ball." At that point, Y/N almost melted through the slits in the chair. Someone else, he'd said, thought it was obvious he meant her. He wanted her to be on his arm. He wanted her to guide across the dancefloor. Her to be the one he was seen with.

She cleared her throat before she spoke again, caught entirely off guard by his response to her quick wit - thinking she'd render him speechless again. "But I don't have anything to wear, not at home- at your house or at my apartment. Nothing gala worthy, anyway." She mumbled, to which Tom raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you think we're in London city centre, darling?" She sputtered out her coffee again. "No way am I allowing you to take me to some fancy dress shop, Holland. I can't afford that and I don't want you paying for it." He smirked at her stubbornness, the fire back in her eyes like the first night they met. "Then let's call it, me giving you your pay check earlier than expected, except I'm the one spending it and not you." And before she could say anything, he held out his hand and led her back to the car.

-

After another 10 minutes of driving, Tom pulled up outside a rather swanky looking boutique, almost like something you'd see on a show about the daily life of a celebrity. "Here?" she'd questioned, and he smiled. "What was it you said in the office the other day? Only the best for the best? Something along those lines?" She blushed at him, as he got out and once again made his way round to her side of the car, extending a hand and helping her stand out of the car before leading her inside. As she looked out the window, she realised the boutique was on Bond Street, one of the most expensive strip of shops in London. She quickly cleared the thought out of her head, as to stop herself from worrying about it, and turned to Tom, who was being greeted by the woman behind the desk. He seemed to be talking to her about something, both taking glances back at Y/N, before he suddenly returned to her side. "Talking colour schemes, we have to match, don't we darling?" She blushed again, before noticing the lady from behind the desk beckoning her over to a dressing room, one arm covered in garment bags, before drawing the curtain closed behind them.

Y/N extended a smile to the woman, as she introduced herself as Bev, saying she'd worked with Tom and his family for years, often picking and fitting dresses for his mother, Nikki. Y/N smiled at her warmness, thanking the universe for having such a lovely woman to experience something very out of her comfort zone with. Before she knew it, Y/N was stripping down to her underwear, as Bev hung up the garment bags on the high rail beside the mirror. "Mr. Holland said the theme was red, so I've picked out some lovely gowns that would go with the picture of the suit he said he'd be wearing. Like he said, you've got to match, right?" She gave Y/N a small wink, before turning back to her. "Now, what kind of thing would you WANT to wear? I can tell you've not done anything like this before. Think of it as living a fairytale, or becoming a princess. What kind of dress could you see yourself in at a gala with the infamous Tom Holland?"

Y/N stared at Bev for a short moment, her mind reeling with all the princess dresses she'd seen in films and on Pinterest, before using her hands to start explaining what kind of length and neckline, how much she'd like it to flow out, or not, and what kind of sleeves. Bev gave her a wide smile, turning to the rail before saying "You know what? You've just perfectly described one of the dresses that I picked up, I took one look at you and thought THIS one is PERFECT, but my job is to give you the choice, not pick them myself." She gave Y/N another wink before zipping down one of the garment bags, letting the fabric of the skirt tumble down to the ground. 

Y/N gasped, it was beautiful. A deep red, crimson, almost like blood, it was shoulderless, a bandeau style almost, but it had long sheer lace sleeves. The bottom of the dress was tight until the hips, then spilled out in a few layers of soft fabric, flowy - like a princess dress, but not puffy like Glinda's dress in the Wizard of Oz. It was very red carpet-like, and Y/N gazed in awe. She couldn't imagine herself in a dress like this, but she couldn't think of any other dress that would be more perfect. Bev quickly urged her to try it on, and Y/N couldn't wait, hastily taking the dress off her before she'd even finished her sentence.

"I reckon you should wait until the night of the gala to show Mr. Holland," Bev started "I think he'd be speechless. You look incredible, sweetheart. It's only a day, I'm sure he can wait." Y/N smiled at her and nodded, agreeing entirely, she'd prefer Tom to see this dress with her hair and makeup done properly too, the full look all tied together. Even while not being entirely confident in herself, Y/N knew she'd look stunning in this outfit, paired with everything spiffed up and fancy. Bev showed her a pair of black glossy Louboutins, mentioning the red sole they were so well known for would match perfectly with her dress - if she was heading up any stairs and lifting her dress up. Y/N hesitated, Louboutins were expensive, but then again, Tom had brought her here on purpose, and if he'd been coming here for years he would surely know it was expensive himself. She nodded, smiling at Bev, who left through the curtain and kept it close to the wall, allowing her to redress herself, saying she'd be waiting at the desk for her.

As she pulled the curtain open, Tom raised an eyebrow at her "You're really making me wait until tomorrow to see it?" Bev must have told him. "Surely you can wait a day Tom, you're not that impatient, and you should know by now you're not gonna get everything you want with me." She smiled up at him and he placed his hand on the small of her back, smiling down at her, and they stared at eachother for a short second, until Bev cleared her throat. "Here you are, Mr. Holland." she said, holding the shopping bag towards him "I hope you two enjoy the gala, you'll look wonderful together, I'm sure." And as they both gave her a smile and a wave as they left the shop, Y/N couldn't help but feel the giddiness she'd felt this morning bubbling back up inside her, a new feeling she was coming to love, as it was always because of Tom.

Back at the Holland manor, bustling through the front door with a smile plastered on both their faces, Harrison was sat at the breakfast bar - a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. Y/N paused in the foyer, a wide smile breaking out, as she joined him - pushing herself up onto a stool and telling him about the lovely pastries they'd bought this morning and in a hushed tone telling him about the dress that she'd got for the gala - whilst Tom watched from afar, perched against the sofa on the other side of the room, a soft smile on his face as he gazed at the woman he'd taken in ever so quickly, and accepting that he'd definitely made the right choice.

-

Word Count: 2346

A/N: Bruh I'm on an absolute SPIEL of words tonight, I'm straight up about to write another chapter, I don't think I've ever read a book that gets updated as quickly as my own but the words will NOT stop coming lmao.

If anyone IS reading this, I hope y'all are enjoying it, and be VERY excited for the next chapter, we got sugar, spice and some things not very nice coming up :')


	6. Other-Worldly.

It was the evening of the gala, after a very uneventful day in the office - most clients staying for less than 10 minutes and the majority of them being a brief update on the business, Y/N sat on her bed, staring at the garment bag hung up by the mirror. She was beyond excited to get ready, and she had plenty of time. Tom had let her know that they didn't leave until 7, and it was only 4:30. Just as she was pondering her makeup ideas, a knock came at the door, and she rushed to open it. She found Harrison stood on the other side, in casual clothes - evidently waiting a while before getting ready himself. 

"Y/N, hi. Um, Tom asked me to come tell you that the hair and makeup people will be coming at 5, so you don't need to worry about doing it yourself, it's all already sorted for you." She smiled at him, wondering why he seemed so nervous until she realised that she was fresh out of the shower, only covered in a small silk kimono she'd found in the wardrobe. "Oh," she said, crossing her arms across her chest - pulling the fabric tighter around her. "Yes, of course. Thank you." He nodded, trying to avoid eye contact before turning on his heel and heading back towards his room.

Y/N wondered what Tom was doing, she hadn't seen him in a few hours. With the office work finishing early he'd ventured to his room straight after and hadn't appeared since. "Oh, Harrison?" he paused and turned to look at her. "Have you seen Tom? I haven't seen him in a little while." He smirked at her question, and she blushed. "He's probably just relaxing, these gala's always have him on edge, he's always worried something's going to happen. I'm sure he's fine though, but you could always check on him, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if it was you." He raised an eyebrow before turning back to his door and heading inside. 

Y/N briefly paused, debating whether to go check on Tom or not, before reminding herself of what Jay said - to do things she wouldn't normally do, and headed towards the door next to hers, giving it a soft knock. Before she'd even put her hand back at her side, the door swung open to reveal a slightly dishevelled looking Tom, wet from the shower, a towel wrapped around his hipbones. A little too low, if you asked her. "I thought I'd come check on you, Harrison said gala's stress you out a little, I was wondering if you'd like some company or something until the hair and makeup people arrive." He gazed at her for a second before giving her a timid smile, moving to the side and gesturing for her to enter, closing the door behind him and sitting on the end of the bed, patting beside him for her to sit too.

"Should I be worried? Should I be prepared for something to happen? Or is it just one of those things you've picked up from being in the business?" She questioned, and he looked at her for a moment, before placing a hand over hers. "No, no. No need to be worried. I just don't like rooms that are busy, the same reason I don't like clubs. There could be anyone watching from anywhere, waiting for a moment to attack, or listening in. They just put me on edge. That's why it's always so quiet here." She smiled softly at him, she'd seen him angry before, but not stressed. It was a different kind of tension that was held in his face.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Tom. You'll have Harrison there, and surely nobody would attempt to do anything in front of so many witnesses?" she challenged, he glanced at her again and nodded briefly. "Yeah, yeah you're probably right. An awful time to strike really, especially at a mobster gala. It would be like a battleground in seconds if someone pulled a weapon." She rested a hand on his back, rubbing it to try and calm him. "See? Nothing to worry about. It'll be fine. Relax, and have a good night." A knock came from the door, and Harrison opened it, popping his head into the room. "The team's here to get you guys ready, we should be quick, it's not like us to be late anywhere." 

Y/N nodded and rose from the bed, squeezing Toms shoulder before making her way towards Harrison. "See if you can calm him down a bit more? He's awfully tense. I hate seeing him like that." She whispered before heading towards her bedroom door, where 2 women were hauling in carts of supplies enough to suit and boot an entire runway, 2 more headed towards Toms room - squeezing past her.

"Hi!" one of the women squeaked, her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, she wore a simple black t-shirt and jeans, paired with converse, as did the other. "I'm Cassie, this is my assistant, Jen." The dark haired girl gave a small wave. "So, did you have anything in mind? Actually, we need to see the dress!" Cassie looked overly excited as she spared a glance at the garment bag by the mirror, and Y/N hastily tiptoed over in excitement before pulling down the zip and taking the gown out of it. Jen gasped behind her, and Cassie made a soft clap. "That is STUNNING. Was it Bev? She's a genius, that woman." Jen rambled, reaching out to touch the fabric of the skirt as Cassie came to her side to touch the sleeves. "Okay, okay! Go, go, go! Put it on! Let's get you looking like a princess!" Cassie squealed as she handed the hanger to Y/N and pushed her towards the ensuite. 

Upon reentering the room, adorned in the gala dress, the two women gasped again, beyond excited. "You look beautiful, Y/N." Cassie whispered, coming to stand in front of her, pulling her hair over her shoulder. "I think I know exactly what to do here, don't you Jen?" she glanced at Jen, who was nodding vigorously, already rooting through her makeup case. Cassie took her hand before guiding her to the fold down seat they'd brought with them, before getting to work hastily - a wide smile present on both of their faces.

-

"And 3, 2, 1, open!" Y/N opened her eyes to look at the mirror Cassie held in front of her and almost choked. Was this what she really looked like? She rarely wore anything more than mascara, but here she was with a full face of makeup, including eyelashes, and her hair styled to the heavens. She took in the deep red eyeshadow that made her emerald green eyes pop, framed with sharp, thick winged eyeliner and fluffy false eyelashes, her lips painted with a crimson red lipstick and a light blush fluffed over her cheekbones, her eyes and cheekbones framed with an icy pink toned highlight. Moving onto her hair, Cassie angling the mirror for her, she took in the soft waves that floated around her shoulders, the half that was pulled up curled into a pristine rose-shaped bun at the back of her head, plaited either side, with the odd plait falling down between the curls of the hair left down. 

Y/N almost forgot to breathe, she barely recognised herself, but she didn't have time to think about that before Cassie was handing her the shoebox, rushing her to put her shoes on, telling her Tom and Harrison were already done and waiting downstairs for her. Slipping on the Louboutins, getting Jen to check for anything wonky about her appearance, Cassie sprayed her with a very expensive looking perfume and handed her a small red clutch, which Y/N placed her belongings into, before taking her hand and ushering her out of the room beside her.

As she cascaded down the staircase, dress in one hand, half trailing behind her, and Cassie's hand in the other, the room went silent as both Tom and Harrison snapped their heads round to look at her. Harrison, seemingly handling it better than Tom, arm across his front with the other hand placed on his chin as he smiled widely at her, eyes twinkling. Tom, on the other hand, was catching flies, and Y/N raised her hand and tapped her chin before he quickly caught himself and shot forward, meeting her at the bottom of the staircase and extending his hand as he usually did.

"Jesus fucking christ, you look..." Tom trailed off, standing back, still hand in hand, to take in her full appearance, seemingly lost for words entirely, which was uncommon for Tom. She smirked at him, noticing this, and teased "I haven't shocked THE Tom Holland into speechlessness, have I?" His eyes snapped back to her, and he grinned before saying "Almost, darling. Almost." Harrison cleared his throat from behind him, and Tom snapped a bit more back into reality. "Yes! Right, yes." he rambled before letting go of her hand and heading to the kitchen island, returning swiftly, grasping a square box in his left hand. "I got you this, to match, well - I hoped it matched. It was a bit difficult considering I had no idea what the dress looked like." And to Y/N it looked like he BLUSHED, but he couldn't have, right? With his head down, opening the lid to reveal a silver chain, with a small red padlock where the pendant would rest. She raised an eyebrow at him, but his smile never faltered and she blushed, as he asked Cassie to lift up Y/N's hair so he could clasp the necklace around her neck. "Thank you," she smiled at him "It's lovely, very much my aesthetic." She chuckled, almost as if Tom had noticed she wasn't a jewel and sparkle kind of girl. "I know. That's why I chose it." He smirked, and she blushed again.

"RIGHT." Harrison said obnoxiously loudly, earning a scowl from Tom, obviously feeling a little left out "Shall we get going then? Or we're going to be LATE." He dragged out, shooting a playful glance at the both of them. Y/N giggled, taking Toms extended hand before following Harrison out the door, laughing again as Harrison realised he was being shooed to the backseat when Tom flicked him away from the front passenger door to allow Y/N to sit down. 

Before Tom started the car, he turned to Harrison, who nodded and sat back in the seat, as if he was bracing, before he turned back to Y/N. "What?" she asked, unaware of the silent conversation between the two. "I don't want to worry you, but I also brought this, I didn't want to do it in front of Cassie and Jen though." Tom reached into the door space and pulled out a thigh holster, with a pistol pocketed in it. Y/N inhaled sharply. "For ME?" She questioned, and Tom nodded. "It'll put my mind at rest, knowing that if anything happens, you can defend yourself, y'know? Please?" He almost sounded worried, but he was trying his best not to be. She briefly nodded, and he ran over quickly how to hold and use it, before handing it to her, placed back in the holster.

Y/N lifted the slit in the dress away from her thigh, throwing it over her other leg, and removing one shoe, as she slid the holster up and tightened it around the top of her thigh, making sure she could reach it easily should she need it. She wished Tom didn't feel this way, but if it put his mind at rest to have her walking around with a strap on her thigh, she would. Besides, if he was right, she WOULD need it.

-

As Tom handed his keys to the valet, Y/N's gaze drifted up to the building. It was bigger than Toms house, though not by much, but she wondered if it was longer rather than wider, and if the houses were roughly the same but in different ways. Surely it would have to be bigger to host a gala? Gala's have dance floors right? Tom wrapped his arm around her, placing his hand on the curve of her waist, glancing at her with a look of "You ready?" She nodded, and he guided her up the steps, her dress in her right hand, and Harrison on her right side.

The inside of the building was magical, everything was decorated in a black and red theme, glistening lights trailed down from the ceiling and up every wall. There were rows of tables around all sides of the room, and a ballroom floor smack bang in the middle - trailing off onto a grand staircase in the middle that led up to either side, much like Tom's house. A small orchestra sat in the corner of the room next to the staircase, seemingly not ready to play yet, the night had just begun after all. Tom whisked her across the room and straight to the bar, where he handed her a glass of white wine, how did he know she didn't like red?, before leading her to an assortment of other people, flitting from group to group, introducing her and shaking hands. 

Y/N was entirely overwhelmed, and though Tom hadn't seemed to notice, Harrison had. "Tom, mate, mind if I steal her away for a short while? She looks like she's about to pass out if you spin her around to another group of strangers." Tom glanced at Y/N, realising he was right, before nodding. "Of course, of course, go, go, take a breather. Sorry, I really need to pay attention more, not everyone's like me, I know." She smiled gratefully at him, before opening her clutch and waving a packet of cigarettes at Harrison. He gave her a cheeky grin, pleased at her idea, and they headed back towards the grand double doors and outside to entrance, where a large balcony wrapped across the front of the building.

Y/N leaned on the wall, looking out into the night in front of her, handing Harrison a cigarette before placing one between her own lips, lighting them both simultaneously just like Tom had in his office a few days prior. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" Harrison sighed, breathing out smoke as he spoke. Y/N exhaled, closing her eyes before taking another breath and turning to look at him. "How do you do it all? Did you grow up with it too? It's always so tense and dramatic. I feel like I'm living in a TV drama." He chuckled at her. "Kind of. I met Tom when we were kids, and though my family isn't a part of the business, I just kind of ended up being around it all my life being with Tom. He doesn't know any other kind of life, I feel bad sometimes. All I want for him is to settle down and relax, find love, but I don't think he knows how."

Y/N side eyed Harrison, who was looking off beyond him, frowning at his last words. "Doesn't know how? He's surprisingly soft when he's not around everyone else. I think he knows how, he's just too scared to." Harrisons head snapped round to her, raising an eyebrow at her confession of another side of Tom. "He is, is he?" Smirking as he continued "There's something going on between you two, I know there is. I can feel it." Y/N gasped for air as she choked on the smoke she'd been inhaling, she knew he'd noticed, she just didn't think he'd admit it. "Uh. Yeah. Something like that." Turning her face away from Harrison and looking to her left, trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. 

"Is that why you came down later than everyone else yesterday morning?" She choked again, being reminded of the breakfast date with Tom at her sputtering. "You knew all this time, didn't you?! That's what your cheeky little smirk was about during the briefing!" She exclaimed, narrowing her eyes with a grin as he burst into laughter. "As much as Tom is very guarded, he completely fails at it when you're around. Besides, I caught you walking across the landing in his t-shirt." Y/N gasped and swatted at his arm as he boomed with laughter again. "You arsehole! And you had me sit there thinking I'd done a great job of sneaking out!" They laughed together, and the tightness in Y/N's chest subsided as she dropped the finished cigarette off the other side of the wall. 

"There's no need to be embarrassed, you're good for him, I see it in him. He's different with you, less angry and stressed all the time. He's not gone soft, exactly. He's just softer when he's with you. He's usually such a prick to girls." Y/N raised her eyebrow at him, and he shrugged in response. "The band will probably be starting soon, we should get back inside before Tom knocks my head off." She laughed and took his arm as they both headed back up the steps and into the grand hall, bumping into Tom, who seemed to be on his way out to look for them.

Harrison handed Y/N off to Tom, who took her hand elegantly, and guided her towards the edge of the dance floor, where she noticed the band were getting ready to start playing. "Mr. Holland, I hope you don't expect me to dance with you." she quipped, smirking at him. He grinned at her, nodding quickly and responded "Of course I do, Miss Y/L/N. What ever would I have brought you to the edge of the dance floor for?" She smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her in closer. She was once again, close enough to taste him, and she blushed, looking down towards her feet.

He placed 2 fingers underneath her chin, almost like last time, and tilted her head up to look at him - making her blush. He took a step back and extended his hand to her, slightly bowing in the process. "May I have this dance, darling?" Y/N looked towards the dance floor, noticing couples were starting to flood in - preparing to dance. She took his hand with a shy smile and allowed him to lead her towards them, ignoring the knot that was twisting in her stomach, as Tom stopped them in a space. He bowed low, keeping eye contact with her, and she curtsied back - allowing him to then grab her waist in his left hand, and her hand in his right, lifting it to chin height.

Tom pulled Y/N closer, and she could feel the heat creeping around the back of her neck and up her face. Their noses were touching again, as she flashed back to the memories of them laying in bed together the day before, blushing even harder. "I never actually told you how you looked properly," Tom began, and she slowly brought her eyes up to meet his as the music began to play, and she recognised it instantly. It was Merry-Go-Round of Life, one of her favourite pieces. 

(A/N: If you want, listen to the Nuvo Orchestra's cover of Merry-Go-Round of Life here, and the part mentioned after Tom speaks in the next paragraph is around the 2:30 mark.)

She'd dreamed of dancing to this at her wedding as the first dance. It was beautiful. Tom gripped her hand slightly tighter as he started to guide her around the dance floor, incredibly elegantly for a mob boss, and she wondered if he'd had dancing lessons before. "You look ethereal. So elegant, and other-worldly." He whispered, and she blushed furiously as they continued to dance. The music drifted off quietly for a second, and kicked back in full force, louder and more dramatically, as Tom gripped her tightly and spun her out - as Y/N surprisingly stayed upright, before he spun her back in, arm wrapped around her tightly before dipping her down, causing one of her legs to kick up to try and balance herself. He smirked at her, tongue peeking between his teeth, before he pulled her back up and span her a few more times - pulling her back in once more as the music drifted to its end, and everyone applauded before exiting the floor for a breather, leaving Tom and Y/N on the dance floor, alone.

She peered over Toms shoulder to find Harrison, looking fairly amused but more so, proud, and she blushed before turning her gaze back to Tom, who was already staring at her. "You are...so incredibly beautiful, and I'm glad I had the balls to ask you here with me tonight, I think it would've been awful without you at my side." Y/N felt the tips of her ears burn and her eyes water, as she tried not to burst into tears at this incredibly soft side of Tom who was evidently enamoured with her. "Tom...I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else." He let out a breath, as if he was waiting for her to reject his comment, before grasping her hand and leading her up the staircase in the centre of the room, pulling her into one of the rooms halfway down the hallway. 

-

She stood behind him as he closed the door, and he paused for a minute, seemingly stuck in thought before he turned back. She held his gaze as he slowly made his way towards her, reaching up and cradling the side of her face. She leaned into him, eyes closing, sparks flying down her neck as they touched. "Is this okay?" Tom whispered, suddenly closer to her than before when she opened her eyes. She could feel his breath again, and she could smell a hint of vanilla under the musk of his cologne. She nodded, and was beyond lost for words, as she laid eyes upon the beautiful man before her, basking in all his glory, the smartest and most daring man she knew, even if she had only known him for a few days. 

There was something about Tom that was beyond captivating, and Y/N found herself leaning into him whilst lost in thought, her lips brushing against his. Tom let out a short, shaky breath, before tightening his grip on the side of her face and pulling her in - their lips coming together. Tom was hungry, and passionate, snaking his other hand across her side and around her back - pulling her into him as far as she would go. Y/N breathed out through her nose, her lips buzzed with electricity and her chest felt like it was going to burst, had Tom not been holding her, she would've collapsed to the floor by now. He walked them both backwards until Y/N hit some kind of low dresser or table, and Tom grasped her left leg and hoisted her up onto it.

Y/N threaded her fingers into his hair, sighing into the kiss, as Tom pulled back for a second - brushing his nose against hers. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this." And although Y/N had only known him a few days, she thought back to what Harrison had said, and it seems Tom had known her for a while - but in the moment she was in, she pushed it to the back of her mind.

Tom gripped her thighs tightly as he leaned into her more, and for a second she wondered if he would leave bruises - moaning into his mouth as she pulled at his curls, and he groaned back. His hands drifted up her thighs, over the holster and under her dress, resting his thumbs on her hip bones and pulling her even closer towards him - to the point where her hips were touching his. He pushed forwards more, putting pressure on her heat, and she gasped throwing her head back, which Tom took as an opening to attack her neck, littering kisses along the sides and nipping softly. Y/N's eyes rolled back in her head as her hands slipped down to his jaw, curling her fingers and scratching at his skin, and he let out a throaty groan again.

But it was all short lived when suddenly, from downstairs, a gunshot sounded, followed by screams and yelling. Y/N snapped her head back up, panic in her eyes as she looked at Tom, who had wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her off the dresser into his chest protectively. "Shit." he hissed, reaching under his suit jacket and unholstering his gun. "We need to go. Now." His eyes were dark, and his face was suddenly stern again, a solemn look displayed as he grasped her elbow and pulled her towards the door. "Stay low, and stay behind me." he whispered as he grabbed the doorknob and slowly twisted it. Y/N nodded as she grasped the back of his suit jacket and they crouched, making their way out into the hall.

Tom peeked around the corner of the staircase, where there was a group of men stood in the middle of the ballroom floor, guests were cowering by tables and behind chairs, some had already ran out the door. He swore under his breath and turned to face her, reaching into his pocket and handing her his phone. "Go back into that room, call Harrison, tell him to come around to the back of the house, we're going to have to climb out of the window, do you understand Y/N?" he said in a hushed tone, eyes flicking between the scene below them and her. She swallowed thickly and nodded, and he pushed her softly back towards the room.

-

It wasn't long before Y/N could see Harrison outside the window below, the drop wasn't too far, and there was a pergola below the window that, if Y/N guessed correctly, they could climb down to and drop to the floor from there. She peeked back out of the door and motioned to Tom, who crept back over to her and into the room, pushing the door quietly shut behind him. "HOLLAND!" someone roared from downstairs "You killed my best man, Holland! Don't think I wouldn't find out, you sneaky son of a bitch! Come OUT here and FACE me!" 

Y/N glanced at Tom, who looked beyond furious, and he turned to grab both of her forearms. "Listen to me darling, I need you to get out of that window. Go with Harrison, he's called backup. I'll come back to you. I promise." and before she could say a word, Tom had already crept out of the room. In a mix of panic and adrenaline rush, Y/N grabbed the shoes from her feet, opening the window with her spare hand and throwing the shoes down below, barely missing Harrison. "Fuck me, Y/N. Could've aimed a bit wider. Hurry, there's not much time." he hissed, trying not to be heard. Y/N braced herself, tying the ballgown at one side of her hip, before hoisting herself onto the window ledge, onto the small bit of stone outside, shimmying her way across it to the pergola. Creeping her way across, hoping nothing snapped, she took a shaky breath before sitting down on the side and hopping off, Harrison grabbing her halfway down so she didn't land too hard.

He grabbed her hand and bent down low, urging her to do the same, as they snuck around the back of the building to a car at the side that was apparently waiting for them. Harry was driving, and as Harrison and Y/N launched themselves into the back seats, Harry floored it and sped out of the courtyard and back towards the Holland home.

-

It had been 2 hours, almost 3, since they'd arrived back at the manor, and Y/N could do nothing but panic. She hadn't heard anything from Tom, nor had Harrison or Harry. Sam had gone to back Tom up, and hadn't been heard from either, and Y/N's mind was reeling with the possibilities of them being unsafe, or even worse - gravely hurt.

"He'll be okay, love." Harrison whispered, as she paced back and forth in front of the breakfast bar, glass of wine in hand. "Will he? How do you know? You aren't there Harrison. We've heard NOTHING. He could be HURT." And as if the world could hear her, the front door burst open, Tom in the middle with Sam and another man on either side of him, and they were holding him up. He was covered in blood, Y/N was unsure if it was his or someone else's, but he was most definitely hurt - as he winced when they lowered him onto the sofa.

"Shit. Fuck. Tom." Y/N exclaimed as she rushed towards him, throwing herself onto the sofa beside him, as he slumped back into the cushions breathing heavily. "Is he alright? What's wrong with him?" She looked between Sam and the other man. "Jacob, go and get the first aid kit from under the sink, we'll get him cleaned up as quickly as possible so he can rest." Sam ordered before turning back to Y/N. "He's fine, a bit bashed up but he's just winded, took a whole table to the gut just before we got out of there, he might've bruised some ribs - but he'll be alright. Like I said, he just needs rest."

Y/N reached towards Tom, brushing away the curls that were plastered to his face with sweat and blood. "Jesus, Tom." she whispered, as he opened one eye to lazily look up at her. "I'm okay darling, I promise. Just need to- AH SHIT." he yelled as Jacob pressed an alcohol wipe to his forehead. "You could've warned me, dickhead!" Ah, there he is. Y/N thought. She smirked down at him and he stuck his tongue out at her. "What a wonderful night we had." he croaked at her, whilst Jacob wiped away the blood from his face. She laughed at him and ran her hand down his cheek. "Shut up, asshole."

-

Later that night, Y/N crept out of her bedroom and tiptoed towards Toms, slowly opening the door and peering in. He seemed to be asleep, but still she crept over to him, crawling into bed beside him and pulling the sheet up to cover him properly where he'd shifted and kicked it off. She swept the curls from his forehead again, and he stirred, cracking open one eye. "Mm, hi." he whispered, giving her a lazy smile and wrapping his arm around her waist. "I didn't want you to be alone and all battered up, that and-" she paused, wondering if she should carry the sentence on. "And?" Tom raised an eyebrow. "I missed you." she whispered, so quietly she wondered if he could even hear her, and he sighed - smiling as he pulled her closer to him, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, and soon his soft snores were heard, whilst Y/N lay wrapped in his arms, wondering if she'd ever be able to sleep without him again.

-

Word Count: 5234

A/N: Sorry this was so long!! At no point did I wanna cut ANY of the drama in two, whether it was the fluff, spice or the actual drama :')

Again, if you've read this far, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll update tomorrow, as it's 11pm here now and I've been awake since 7am :s But I sincerely hope that this got you more interested in the book if you weren't too fussed already - and I can't WAIT to show y'all what I have in store!

All my love! x


	7. Desire.

It was Tom who stirred the sleeping pair the next morning, and while she would've liked it to be with a soft kiss to the forehead and a groggy 'Good morning, darling.' It was instead with a loud bang on the hardwood floor and a throaty snarl. Y/N's head whipped around to the other side of the bed, leaning on her elbow, where she found him lay on the floor on his front, almost face down, clutching his ribs with one hand.

"What are you doing, you idiot? Sam told you that you needed rest, not to get out of bed immediately first thing in the morning." He scoffed, side eyeing her and using the hand that wasn't holding to his side to push himself up off the floor. "Maybe so, darling, but I have a job to do. An empire doesn't run itself." and he shuffled towards the wardrobe on the other side of the room. 

Instead of demanding he get back into bed immediately, Y/N watched him as his face twisted whilst he attempted to put on his shirt, before getting up and gliding towards him, wrapping the silk sheets around her chest and folding it under her armpit. "If you're going to get up, you're gonna have to let me help you as much as I can. You shouldn't be up at all." He sighed before letting go of the shirt, allowing her to pull it around his shoulders properly and button it up, before taking the tie out of his right hand and folding it under the collar.

"I'm not incapable, you know. My ribs are a bit hurt, I'm fine, I'll get over it. Just need some painkillers or a nice hefty glass of booze, which is your job, not to button up my shirt, darling." Y/N shot a glare up at him, pushing the knot of the tie too tight on purpose, almost choking him. "Fucking HELL, alright I'm sorry. Help then, please." She tilted her head down, smirking away from his view, and loosened the tie so it sat up against the top button. 

"There." she sighed, giving him a small smile. "Do I need to help you with your pants too? Or can you handle those all by yourself like a big boy?" Her eyes twinkled, and she could tell by the glare he shot her that she was being too cheeky again. "I'll be fine, I may need your help with my shoes and my holster though, they're not exactly easy to put on with one hand." he grimaced, glancing at the two items that lay on the chair by the wardrobe.

"Of course, I'm not gonna sit in bed and watch you struggle, dumbass." He let out a soft chuckle as he pulled up his pants with his spare hand, before she got up - kneeling before him and helping him slide the combat boots on, tying them for him. "I quite like you from this angle, Miss Y/L/N." Her eyes shot up to see him grinning at her devilishly, before she bit her lip and flew to her feet. "I wouldn't have taken you as someone to be so crude so early in the morning, Mr. Holland." He sucked his teeth before his eyes turned dark, holding her gaze. "There's a lot you don't know about me, darling."

Y/N stood, staring at him, left entirely speechless as he chuckled and reached down towards the holster, holding it out for her - which she took and helped him into, tightening the straps at his side. "What exactly are you intending to do if something goes wrong then? You can't just shoot up into attack mode like you did with Milani." The gruesome scene of that morning flashed before Y/N's eyes and her face heated, as she shook her head trying to rid the images of blood stained carpet and a brain splattered wall.

Tom placed a finger under her chin, lifting it as he'd done before. "I'm having Harrison and Harry stand right outside my door, darling. Don't you worry, everything will be fine." he whispered, before sliding his hand up to the side of her face and kissing the top of her head.

-

Y/N wondered if they were going to speak about the night of the gala at any point, except her thoughts were drifting back and forth from the violent interruption of a wonderful night, to the scene in the upstairs bedroom that made her skin hot before she'd even realised she was thinking about it. 

'You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this.' he'd said. How long had he wanted to do that? Was it since the night they met at the pub, or some time beforehand? Her thoughts drifted even further back to the short conversation she'd had with Harrison in the kitchen the morning after she'd met Tom, and she wondered if he'd ever tell her what Harrison meant by 'Tom may have been watching you for a short while.' How short was short? Had it been a week, or a matter of months - which wasn't very short at all? Enough for Harrison to know how she took her coffee, and long enough for Tom to know her name, and where she lived and worked, and god knows what else.

It wasn't long before she was snapped out of her thoughts as usual, by Tom nonetheless. "Y/N, darling. Are you alright?" She had no idea how long she'd been staring into space, yet she was still stood, and wondered how she hadn't swayed into the desk or even crumpled to the floor entirely. She glanced between Tom and the man sat in the chair in front of him, who despite being sat before an evidently very injured Tom - still looked entirely terrified. 

"Yes, yes. Sorry. Just zoned out." He frowned slightly at her, knowing there was more to it - but didn't question it as he turned back to the man before him and started rambling about shipments and deliveries. Something about a warehouse on the docks. Y/N wasn't paying much attention in the first place, and proceeded to pay even less as her thoughts drifted back to the gala.

Y/N had no idea who the man was that had shouted from below them that night, but she had no doubt it was something to do with Milani, who Tom had shot in cold blood two days prior and not mentioned to anyone since. She glanced at him from her chair by the cabinet, his hands were folded and rested under his chin, glasses perched on his nose again as he stared harshly at the client in front of him - who was tripping up over every single word that came out of his mouth. She wondered if he was dangerous after all.

-

Later that night, Y/N made her way around the kitchen as she poured herself a tea, some kind of fruit tea that she'd found in the cupboard above the kettle with the rest of the hot drink supplies, before she shot round at the sound of footsteps across the marble floor. It was Sam, who raised his hands halfway. "Jumpy little thing, aren't you?" he chuckled and she returned a soft smile. "Sorry, I've been so tense since the Gala. I can't stop thinking there's going to be someone ready to shoot me at every single turn, I think I understand why Tom is so stressed all the time now."

He gave her a small smile and sat at the breakfast bar in front of her, and she asked if he wanted a cup of tea or coffee. He asked for coffee, and she quickly poured one and slid it over to him. "How are you doing anyway, Y/N? I haven't really seen you since the gala, I can't imagine it was exactly something you were used to experiencing like us. I know we don't know each other too well but you know you can always speak to any of us if you want to ask anything, especially if you're too scared to ask Tom about it." Quirking an eyebrow, Y/N rested her elbows on the counter between them.

"I might take you up on that actually," she began "Harrison mentioned Tom had been watching me for a while, I was wondering if he ever told you why - y'know, considering you're his actual blood." He shook his head. "Nope, just that we had to. In a protective way of course, he seemed to want you safe rather than tailed." Y/N squinted at him, annoyed that she was no further in her sleuthing than she was beforehand. "Alright, never mind then. Thanks, Sam, and I'll hold you to the offer of talking if I ever need it." Giving him a small wave and weaving her way around the island, Y/N made her way towards the back door and out onto the patio - sitting in the same cushioned swing she'd sat in the night before she woke up in Tom's bed for the first time. 

She hadn't spent long looking out over the city before there was a set of footsteps behind her, and a familiar voice whispered "Do you mind if I sit with you?" She turned to see Tom's face, and gave him a wide smile before patting the seat beside her. "How are you feeling?" she asked, glancing at his scratched up face and his ribs. "I'm alright, enough bourbon and codeine in me to ignore the pain for now." 

She blew air out through her nose harshly. "You scared me, you know?" He turned to her, almost looking surprised. "I...I thought you might be dead, that night. We didn't hear anything for hours, and nobody else had come back, I was prepared for the worst." He brought his arm up to curl around her shoulders, rubbing his hand up and down her arm and kissing her temple. "I never meant to scare you, darling. I just had to do what I had to do, and I couldn't do that knowing you were upstairs hiding in some room in a house you didn't know. I had to get you out of there."

She looked up at him, and he looked down at her, and she mustered up all the courage she had in her bones as she asked "Are we gonna talk about what happened just before that, or is it left unspoken about forever?" turning her head out to the horizon and taking a sip from her mug. She felt him tense beside her, and suddenly she was terrified that she'd overthought it. Maybe he was just drunk and it was a spur of the moment thing, maybe the vibes that she'd got from him were just a figment of her imagination and she didn't mean anything to him at all.

"I...shouldn't have done that." Her heart cracked. "Not there. Not where someone could've seen us. It was a stupid decision." It split down the middle. "You could've been put in danger." What? She snapped round to face him, though he refused to look at her now, evidently mustering all his power into staring out at the city in front of them. "If someone saw us...Jesus Y/N, you could've been taken hostage. I put your entire life at risk for the sake of my own desire." Desire. Not feelings, desire. Her chest started to ache. She was wrong. He didn't feel for her, she was just a pretty woman in a ballgown that he wanted all for himself that night.

"Well next time, don't worry yourself. I won't be coming." She spat as she shot up from the swing and took double strides towards the house. She could hear him calling her but she ignored it, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she slid the mug across the kitchen counter - it hitting the knife block with a smack, before heading up the stairs and to her own room.

-

It'd been hours since she'd spoke to Tom, he'd knocked on her door a few times, asked her to let him in. She'd kept it locked and had told him to leave her alone. She didn't know exactly how long she'd been sat on the balcony in the cold, it'd got to the point where she couldn't feel it anymore - yet she remained sat there, curled up on the wicker chair beside the glass. How could she have been so stupid to think he'd felt something for her? How could she have been so stupid to allow herself to feel something for him? She'd been told it was a bad idea to associate with Tom. She'd been told he was dangerous. She'd been told how harsh he was and how much he didn't care for anyone else.

Yet here she was, having ignored all of the warning signals that had been presented to her on a silver platter, and it was at that moment she realised she'd never called Jay after she said she would, and she shot from the chair - closing the balcony door behind her, and scrambled for her phone on the bedside table, bringing her knees under the sheets and resting back against the absurd amount of pillows at the head of the bed.

Jay picked up in less than 2 rings, and immediately bollocked her for not calling sooner, shouting that he'd been worried sick after not hearing off her in 3 days since they'd last spoke, knowing she was under the roof of a mob boss. "I'm sorry, Jay. I am. So much has happened and I'm so confused and I don't know what to do." she sighed, and that's when she went on to tell him everything from the past week.

She told him about Tom's job proposal, how he'd driven her home and then took her back to his. She told him with tears in her eyes about how on her first day he'd shot a man point blank in the head in front of her, and how he'd then gone on to make her spaghetti and sat out on the patio with her until she fell asleep. She told him about how she'd woke up beside him the next morning, and how she'd seen a whole other side of him. She told him about how he'd stumbled on his words at the sight of her that morning, about their breakfast date and shopping trip, and then - she begrudgingly told him about the gala dress, and the gala itself, and left no details out. And finally, she told him about what Tom had said to her earlier on the patio, and how she'd left him there, alone, as she flew upstairs to her room and locked the door behind her.

Jay sat in shock for a few minutes, and Y/N called his name a few times, unable to determine whether the connection had dropped and he'd froze or not. He eventually spoke up, bollocking her again for not calling him sooner and shaming her for keeping all of this bottled up. She was heartbroken now, she'd thought about nobody but herself, and for the first time since she'd been in the manor, she cried. She cried for the bloody, mangled mess of Milani that was imprinted in her brain forever, she cried for the gala, and she cried for Tom. 

Tom, who as far as she knew, had only wanted someone to sleep next to at night, and drag around on his arm for all to see. Tom, who had been the first man to tell her that she looked other-worldly and ethereal. Tom, who was sat in the bedroom on the other side of the wall, listening to her cry with his head in his hands - unknown to Y/N, of course.

"You're falling for him, aren't you?" Jay whispered and she immediately brought her head up from her hand, staring straight at the screen in shock. Was she falling for him? Was she enticed by the danger? She was unsure, and definitely wasn't in the headspace to think about it right now. She said her goodbyes to Jay, and promised she'd call him more often, especially if something similar to the last weeks events happened again, and placed her phone on charge beside her bed.

She sat in the dark for a short while, tears streaming down her face in a silent cry, clueless and heartbroken. She'd been foolish, and naive. Tom had broken her heart and he probably wasn't even aware, he didn't even seem to see the hurt on her face as he spoke earlier. Just as she was about to have some sense of normality in her early 20's, wondering whether spending her life with someone would be so bad after all, he'd ripped it away from her with a few short sentences, and with that thought, she burst into tears again.

-

Word Count: 2814

A/N: Hi! I know I said I'd write yesterday but something came up and I ended up extremely busy, so to make up for it - if anyones actually even reading this book, I'm writing the next chapter immediately after I've posted this one :) 

I feel awful for writing something so mean, and I really gotta get over that cos worse stuff is gonna happen lmao. I'm so sorry for breaking y'alls hearts, but it won't be that way forever! This is a TomxReader romance fiction after all!

Again, as always, please don't shy away from leaving comments and suggestions, and thank you all for reading this far! I'm really enjoying writing this <3


	8. If You'll Have Me.

It had been days since Y/N had spoken to Tom, aside from the odd 'Of course.' and 'Here.' and other things of the sort. She'd risen in the morning, showered and got dressed and made her way to his office - where she stood silently unless spoken to, as far away from Tom as she could get but close enough to the cabinet, and then immediately retired to her bedroom afterwards. Despite Tom being hot on her heels every single time, hoping to speak to her, she'd always managed to get to her room quicker, and locked the door behind her - only coming out late at night, as quiet as she could (knowing Tom rarely slept) to make her way downstairs for food.

Y/N was still heartbroken after their last conversation, and she was still unsure if Tom knew why, but she continued to avoid him as much as she could, and she was feeling better than she was a few days prior. She'd last spoken to Tom on Tuesday, and it was now Friday night. She'd heard Harrison speaking with the twins about going out tonight, and she wondered if Tom would be going with them. Maybe she'd be able to roam the house for a while without being afraid Tom would appear in front of her to try and talk to her.

An hour later, hearing the booming laughter and shouting of the tipsy men headed out to the bar, she cracked open her door before heading downstairs towards the kitchen. She initially poured a glass of white wine, and went to put the bottle back - before glancing at it for a moment and taking it with her towards the garden doors, glass in the other hand. Balancing the wine glass and the bottle between her fingers in one hand, she slid the door open and made her way towards the grass beyond the patio - shuffling down the small slope before stopping by the pond at the bottom, and it was there - she lost herself inside her own thoughts and the haze of the wine.

-

It didn't take long for Y/N to sway side to side on the grass, chuckling to herself, wondering how she ended up in such a position - however she was so drunk, she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her from behind, and it wasn't until someone sat beside her that she realised she wasn't alone.

"Having fun?" Tom said solemnly, avoiding her eyes as she squinted slightly to look over at him. "Why do you ask? It's not like you care. We aren't friends. I'm here to pour drinks, not anything else, remember?" Y/N scoffed, taking another swig from the bottle of wine in her hand before raising it out towards the horizon. "You have ALL of this to worry about, don't you? No time to care or worry about a lowly barmaid. I'm just another soldier in the ranks, but instead of firing guns, I top up your glass so your clients don't end up like Morello." she spat. "Milani." Tom corrected, but she paid it no mind before she continued.

"Was that night really that stupid to you? Was I just there for you to show everyone that you could have someone on your arm if you wanted to? Or was I just there as a dance partner so you could show off how elegantly you can slide across the dance floor? Another talent to add to everyones list of what the infamous Tom Holland can do." She let out a sarcastic, breathy laugh, before turning to look at him again. He was staring at her intently, his brow furrowed, and she couldn't tell if he was confused or angry. Maybe both.

"Tell me, Tom. Tell me what that night meant to you. I don't understand why you did it. I thought we were on the same page, but apparently not considering I was some STUPID decision you made." He winced at that, and swallowed thickly.

"Darling...I didn't mean it that way, please tell me you know that." He narrowed his eyes, but it wasn't an angry look, it was..almost hurt. Almost, she thought. She'd never seen hurt on his face. Not emotionally. She didn't know what that looked like on him.

"Then how DID you mean it, Tom? Because that's SURE as hell the way it came across. Next time, you might as well quite literally stick your hand through my chest and rip my heart out. You're not fucking stupid. You knew exactly what you were saying." She had sobered up by now, the rage blazing through her. There were no tears brimming her eyes, but there was a fiery heat running up her neck and around the sides of her face. She was seething.

"Y/N, I don't..." he began, looking frustrated. "I don't DO this. I don't do feelings and relationships or anything of the sort, surely you know that." Her face twisted and she let out a singular laugh, harsh and angry. "You don't DO this, Holland? Don't do WHAT? Pretend people mean something to you for you to then turn around and tell them it was a mistake? News flash - that's a horrible thing to do, and I pray that the next girl that crosses your path won't get the same treatment."

She rose from the grass, leaving the glass and bottle there, and stormed back towards the house. If not another glass of wine, she needed a cigarette, maybe 5. She could hear him behind her, but still she flew towards the doors, and up the staircase - like she had the Tuesday before. "Jesus fucking CHRIST, Y/N can you just WAIT a second and let me speak?" Tom yelled from a good 10 feet behind her and she whipped round to face him at the top of the steps. "What is there to say, Tom? I think you've said enough. You don't DO this. My mistake, I won't take it that way again."

Before she could reach the bedroom door, a hand wrapped around her arm and she spun to face him. Once again, their noses were touching. "I said I don't do this, because I don't." he began, voice almost a whisper. "I don't know how. I don't know how to talk in a way anything other than business. I don't know how to consider how other people feel. I don't know how to do this." He paused, brows furrowing again as he sighed harshly, seemingly struggling to find what words he wanted to say. 

"I don't know how to treat you like you deserve, and even if I did, I'm afraid to - because I'm afraid someone will find out and rip you away from me. I've seen it happen, Y/N, and I don't want someone to take you away from me." His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, straightening his back and letting go of her arm, bringing his hand to rest on the side of her face. "I don't know how to do this, because I care about you, and if anyone outside this house knew that - you're immediately a target. The other families...They will stop at nothing to take me down, and if that means taking you from me - I'm not gonna be able to stop myself from coming after you, and that's exactly what they want, and then we'll both be dead."

His jaw clenched, and unclenched, then clenched again. "Y/N...I don't want to lose you. I've known you for so much longer than you think, and I've been waiting and waiting for the right time to come into your life, and I can't lose you now that I finally have you here. I...I just can't. I'd never forgive myself."

She looked up at him, tears spilling down her face. She'd had it entirely wrong, she could see that now. He didn't mean what he'd said the way it had came out earlier that week. He just didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. Y/N brought her hand up to rest over his on the side of her face, and her other rose to brush his hair out of his face - before coming to rest on his cheek. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out apart from a small gasp of air, and she closed it as her lip quivered.

She rose on her tiptoes before locking her lips with his, and there they stood, hand on each others face - locked in a whirlpool of emotion and tears. This time, it was different - it wasn't the burning passion and hunger from the night of the gala that Y/N felt from him, but something entirely different. This kind of kiss was devoted, soft - but needy. His hand slipped from her face and under her ear, thumb resting in front whilst the rest of his fingers were behind - tangled in her hair. They pulled away, and not a word was said as they stared into each others eyes - emerald green seeping into a honey brown, before she took his hand and led him down the hall.

And there they stood a few minutes later, on Toms balcony, Y/N stood leaning against the glass that lined the edge whilst Tom stood with her back to his front, right arm wrapped around her shoulder and across her chest - hand ghosting over her left side. Both with a cigarette between their lips, they looked out across the city once more, and as Y/N leaned back, the back of her head hitting his chest; she sighed, happy and content.

"So...what do we do now?" she whispered. She hoped nothing more than to be with him, for as long as she could, and she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything about him, and she wanted to know everything he knew about her and why.

"I want to know what you want to do." He peered down at her from over her shoulder, and she tilted her head to look up at him as he took another drag and exhaled the smoke through his nose - and as she looked up at him, she pondered what she truly wanted, and took the leap of faith Jay was always telling her to take.

"I want to wake up next to you in the mornings, and I want to fall asleep next to you at night. I want to sit beside you whilst you sign papers through the day and I want to fight beside you when you're out with the others at night. I want to eat with you in the evenings, and share a drink with you surrounded by your closest friends. I want to bring you a coffee in the morning and make sure you eat breakfast, and I want to sit by your side at night when you can't sleep and continue to work. I want to hold your hand and dance with you and meet your peers at galas and parties. I want to know who they are and if they can be trusted, I want to know everything they've done and everything they could do." She took a breath, resting her hand over the arm that lay around her shoulder and across her front.

"I want to meet your parents, and the rest of your close family. I want to see where your brilliant mind comes from, and if you're anything like your father. I want to laugh with you, and I want to cry with you, and I want to be there whether you come back covered in scratches and bruises or you come back covered in someone else's blood in triumph. I want to learn how to live in your world and spend every waking moment by your side, if you'll have me."

She was facing him at this point, twisted around with her back against the glass. He gazed at her in awe, mouth slightly open, and eyes wide - and if there was more light, she might've even noticed the faint line of tears brimming in his eyes.

"You are incredible, Y/N." he breathed, and she gave him a shy smile - embarrassed at the words that had just spilled out of her mouth, as he leaned down and swept her into another deep kiss. "Of course I'll have you, but only if you have me." he whispered against her lips, and she laughed, she laughed for the first time since they had argued on the patio days before, and he laughed back, eyes twinkling with delight. "I think I can handle it." Tom grinned as he moved his arms down to her thighs and picked her up, wrapping her legs around him, and carried her over to the bed, kicking the door closed behind him with his foot, before gently laying her down in the middle of the sheets.

-

Y/N's heart was pounding, and she wondered again if he could feel or hear it, as he hovered over her - his legs on either side of her hips. He drew her into another deep kiss, breathing out against her face as she arched up into him, wrapping her arms around his neck - pulling him in as close as she could. Tom ran his hands under her top, over her waist and her ribs, and back down again - slowly tightening his grip before coming to rest on her hip bones, grabbing them roughly. Y/N gasped into his mouth and he smirked, mouth still on hers, as he grabbed the bottom of her shirt - pulling back and asking with his eyes. She pulled her teeth between her lips and nodded, as he pulled the top over her head, and sitting back on his heels - drinking in the body that lay before him. 

Tom had never seen another woman as beautiful as the one that lay in front of him, and as she moved her arm to cover her chest, he softly grabbed her arm and pulled it away, running his hands softly over the front of her - starting at her shoulders, and moving down over her breasts, before skimming over the start of her stomach, then circling back to her waist. His hands descended further to the waistband of her leggings, and she nodded at his look again - blushing at the notice of how he silently asked permission with every action he took.

As she wiggled her way out of the clothing on her bottom half, Y/N suddenly realised that she was entirely exposed to him, and he still had all of his clothes on. She propped herself up on her elbows, pulling herself to an upright position - whilst he still towered over her, silent, watching her every move. She started at the bottom of his shirt, undoing the buttons one by one and ghosting her hands over his shoulder to push it off of him, and Tom threw the shirt to the floor.

She reached for his belt, as he continued to stare at her, the ghost of a smile on his face and a slight squint in his eyes, as she pulled down his jeans and boxers at the same time, and he kicked them off to the side - pulling off his socks with them. Y/N lay back, propped on her elbows again, and stared at the man in front of her, and it was now she realised the deep angry scars that ran across his skin. Tom noticed, and seemingly shrunk back slightly - almost like he'd forgot they were there, but she reached for his arm, and pulled him down to the bed, switching their positions as she sat with her legs either side of his hips.

She started at the scar that ran from the left side of his neck, diagonally down to the right side of his chest, it was jagged - but it was old, and she ran her finger down it - leaning down to plant small kisses every other second, and as she worked down his body to every single other scar - she wondered if he'd ever been so open like this to anyone before. Entirely exposed, as she doted upon the man in front of her, and placed her affection upon every single angry line that covered his torso.

As she made her way back up to face him, she could see his chest rising and falling rapidly - and it was now that she realised Tom had probably never experienced something like this before, almost like he was ashamed of the battle wounds that covered him, and she reached for the side of his face. He held her gaze, and something flashed across his vision, before he wrapped an arm around her and flipped them over.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he whispered in-between the fleeting kisses placed across her chest, and she gasped before letting out a timid "Yes." He stroked a thumb across her cheek, before kissing her again - and she melted into him all over again, before she felt his hand move down and he inserted a finger inside her. She gasped at the feeling, and realised just how big Tom's hands actually were, shuddering as he quickened his pace below and before she could even fathom what she was feeling, he drew back, leaving Y/N almost whimpering at the sudden loss.

Tom moved above her, ripping open a small silver packet and shifting for a short second, before putting his weight on his hand beside her face, as he looked at her for permission again, and as soon as Y/N nodded, he slammed into her and she yelped - throwing a hand over her mouth in case anyone was home as her legs came up to wrap around his waist. Tom lowered himself onto his forearm, and snaked his other arm around her back as he thrusted into her, and all Y/N could describe it as was euphoric.

She'd never felt anything like this before, and her body count was high, so she was baffled at how different this experience was - but there was no time for thinking, as Tom quickened his pace, sprinkling kisses across her cheek and down her neck, sucking just below her ear so hard that it definitely left a mark - before moving his hand from around her back up to her breast, massaging and squeezing.

Y/N felt like she should've been doing something, but she'd had no idea how much time had passed before her face started to buzz, and the knot below her stomach tightened, and Tom held her. As she came undone in his arms, it was enough to send Tom over the edge too, and he groaned into her neck, dropping even further onto his forearm, before his pace slowed and he lowered himself on top of her, raising his hand to her face and drawing her into another kiss.

She pulled away after a few seconds and looked at him, and he looked back at her, and for a moment she could see something else behind his eyes, but he moved to clean himself up, as she heard something hit the small bin beside the bedside table, and he dropped onto the bed beside her - wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Y/N's eyes were closed as she snuggled into him, her breathing coming to a slow before sleep slowly overcame her, and as her consciousness slipped away - she was unsure what she heard as there came a faint mumble of "I love you." from beside her, and her world plunged into darkness.

-

Word Count: 3254

A/N: WAHEY hi lmao, I now understand what other Wattpad authors mean when they say READING smut and WRITING it are two entirely different ballparks, but I wanted to keep this chapters scene loving and soft rather than SUPER spicy, so don't worry about it not being too much - there's more of that to come; don't forget Y/N has only known Tom for like almost 2 weeks lmao.

ANYWAY. I might make a start on the next chapter tonight, whether or not it'll be up tonight if I do I'm unsure, and I have a house viewing tomorrow so it'll be late evening if it's uploaded tomorrow as I don't really fancy writing spicy fanfic when there's a bunch of students stood in the doorway to my 'bedroom'/office lmao.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as per usual; thank you for reading!! I've only just started getting views and I checked the demographics last night and saw someone from Ireland had read this, so I know someone else other than my accidental viewing as a reader is seeing this so hi!!! But no, I really appreciate people reading this, I've written books since I was 14 but they've always been handwritten and I've never uploaded them anywhere until now, so I'm really excited see if it'll go anywhere!!! 

All the love <3 - Red.


	9. Meeting The Hollands.

"Mooooornin'." Harrison drawled, leaning back against the counter with a mug at his lips, as Y/N made her way down the bottom of the stairs. She spied a smirk on his face, and gave him a confused look as she reached into the cabinet - bringing down two mugs and filling them with coffee, leaving one black and topping the other up with a splash of milk and half a teaspoon of sugar.

"What are you smirking at, Osterfield? Did you get some last night?" she quipped, raising an eyebrow above her own mug. "Nah, but it looks like you did." Y/N spit the coffee back into her mug, as she follow Harrison's gaze to her neck, raising her hand to it - and she realised she'd thrown her hair up into her signature ponytail, forgetting the large purple bruise Tom had left behind the night before.

She yanked the tie out and pulled her hair around her shoulders, cheeks blazing red as Harrison let out a cackle just as Sam and Harry walked into the room. "You owe me 20 quid, both of you." he called to them, and they took one glance at Y/N's flaming face before groaning and simultaneously taking out their wallets. "I told you it'd happen while we were out." Harrison chuckled, raising the mug to his lips again - setting the twins off too.

"Dickheads, all three of you." Tom called as he came down the stairs in nothing but a pair of baggy shorts, and Y/N blushed more, much to the trios amusement as they burst into laughter again. She gave him a look that could only be described as 'They know, help.' and Tom turned to the three of them, giving them a stern look - gliding past them with ease, stopping in front of Y/N and reaching behind her to grab his mug; only pausing to plant a kiss on the top of her unruly hair, and turning to face the men still chuckling behind him.

"You better shut the fuck up before I give you the shit jobs instead of the fun ones, you won't be chuckling when you have to sit in an empty apartment for a week with nothing but a pair of binoculars and a camera whilst you eat protein bars and piss in bottles." Silence overcame the room, and Y/N stifled a cackle. Tom turned to smirk at her, before placing a hand on her lower back and guiding her to the chair, where she cautiously sat, raising more laughs out of the trio - earning a warning glare from Tom, though it was obvious he was trying his best not to smirk himself; proud at a job well done.

"Tom. Eat breakfast, please." Y/N said, as she watched him move to sit beside her. He raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Really?' and she returned a look that said 'Yes, really.' with the tilt of her head towards the countertops. Tom remembered the spiel she'd given the night before, and with a small smile to himself, turned on his heel and placed 4 pieces of bread in the toaster, before turning to face her - leaning back against the counter like Harrison had done earlier. "Better?" he questioned. "Better." She smiled at him, and he smiled back at her, and for a moment - they almost forgot they weren't alone. 

"This is knocking me sick, who the fuck are you and what have you done with Tom?" Harrison called, a joking look of disgust on his face. Tom simply chuckled back at him, taking a sip from his mug before turning back to the toaster and buttering the slices, passing 2 on a plate to Y/N. He even knows how I like my toast, she thought, and she wondered if Harrison was wrong and Tom had been watching her inside her apartment after all. Her apartment. She still hadn't returned for her belongings, and while ignoring the blaze on her cheeks at the thought of Tom watching her inside her apartment when she thought she was alone, she turned to him.

"Can we stop by my apartment tomorrow, if you have any free time? I should probably pick up some of my stuff." He nodded and muttered a small 'Of course, darling.' whilst he flicked through the morning paper. She rose from the stool and made her way behind him, peering over his shoulder on her tiptoes, before whispering "I'm gonna take a shower, if you'd like to join." Making a point of swaying her hips as she headed back up the staircase - laughing as Tom shot from his stool, leaving the toast and coffee behind, and sped up behind her.

-

"I was thinking about what you said on the balcony last night," Tom began from the bathroom; pausing to splash water on his face, towel hanging dangerously low on his hip bones. "You said you want to fight beside me, did you mean literally?" Y/N turned away from the mirror to look at him, before nodding. "Of course I did, it'll kill two birds with one stone, for one. Then you have an extra body while you're out, and I can learn to defend myself properly should I need to, y'know, in an emergency. Besides, I said I wanted to learn your world - what better way to learn it than to throw myself into the middle of it?" He blinked at her from the doorway, before making his way towards her. "Is it rude of me to say that what you just said was incredibly attractive?" wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest, causing her to giggle. "No, Mr. Holland, not at all." she beamed and he spun her around, setting her back down on the rug a few feet over. 

"Well, we can do that then. I'll train you with guns, and I'll train you in hand on hand fighting, get the physical stuff done - though that means you'll have to train regularly with me, can you deal with me for longer than usual?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. She laughed again "Of course I can, I would've left by now if you were insufferable."

Brushing his hair out of his eyes, and again when that one lone curl fell away from the rest, she looked up at the man who now felt like home, and he looked down at her - a queen in the making, and a fierce one at that. Suddenly, Tom snapped out of it and said "Oh, shit. Yeah. I forgot, I called my parents before I came downstairs this morning. I said we'd come round for dinner tonight, with the others too obviously." Y/N suspected he meant Harrison and the twins. "Oh, so soon? That's not much time for me to get ready, Tom." she gave him a frown and he groaned, shaking her a little with a grin. "Woman, you look incredible in everything, and all you need to do is be yourself. I want them to know the woman that I know, not some poised mob wife."

Excuse me? she thought, mob wife? Tom seemed to have realised his slip up, as his eyes went wide for a short second before he spun on his heel towards the wardrobe. "Besides, you'll get to meet Paddy and Tessa, I'm sure they'll love you." Tessa? She'd heard the twins mention a Paddy in passing conversations as she walked by the lounge or the kitchen, but she'd never heard a Tessa. Was it a sister? An old friend? Or maybe a previous lover.

-

Pulling up to yet another grand manor, maybe even bigger than Tom's, Y/N took a shaky breath - meeting Tom's parents was a big thing, yet he didn't seem to realise, especially considering his father was the previous mob boss. Pulling up her turtleneck, making sure to cover the purple bruise below her ear, and pulling down her pencil skirt - she took Tom's hand, and they made their way towards the steps up to the front door, Y/N's heeled boots clicking against the stone.

"What if they don't like me?" Y/N whispered, before Tom landed a swift knock on the glass. "They'll love you, darling. I promise." He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and ghosted his thumb across the side of her face just as the door swung open. Y/N straightened her back without even realising and clasped her hands in front of her - expecting to see one of Tom's parents, but instead, looking down, she found a short, fluffy haired boy - much curlier than Tom's, his face splayed with freckles and soft brown eyes. "You must be Paddy." Y/N smiled at him, and he gave her a small nod before looking over at Tom, glancing over the slight bruising on his face and giving him a very unamused look.

"I know Pads, Mum's gonna be mad that I turned up covered in bruises, you tell me every time." He chuckled before placing a hand on Paddy's head and ruffling his hair, taking your hand in the other. "She's already mad that Sam turned up covered in cuts and bruises, and now you're turning up covered in bruises too. She's gonna be livid, and don't even get me started on Dad, he's been in one of those weird moods again all day." Paddy rambled as he led the both of them through the door and towards the living room.

"Oh for fuck sake." Tom grumbled, and Y/N shot him a confused look, and he gave her a sympathetic smile before explaining. "Everything would be fine if 'Dad' wasn't in one of his moods," Tom started, putting harsh, sarcastic emphasis on Dad "But when he is, all that ends up happening is he causes a scene, whether that's irritating someone else to cause it, or causing it himself."

"Surely not in front of new guests, right? He might've been the last leader of the Hollands but surely in his own home now that he's retired he'd want to keep up the impression that he's a respectable and polite man, now that his job isn't to senselessly murder people?" Y/N questioned, blushing at her crude choice of words about Tom's father, yet both Paddy and Tom scoffed, she shot Tom a glare. "Sorry darling. Just...You clearly don't know Dom Holland then." He gave her a lopsided smile before Paddy opened the living room doors, before saying "Mum, Dad. Tom and..." He turned to look at her, looking embarrassed that he hadn't asked for her name. "Y/N" She smiled at him and glancing back up at the couple stood in the centre of the room, putting her hand on his shoulder as if to say 'It's alright, it happens sometimes.' giving it a quick squeeze before letting it drop back to her side.

"Oh of course, of course! Tom, sweetheart, it's so lovely to see you, when was it we saw you last? A month ago? Two?" The woman gushed before wrapping her eldest son in her arms and covering his face in kisses. Y/N suppressed a giggle at London's biggest mob boss being coddled by his mother like a small child, and Tom let out an awkward breathy laugh before slowly trying to pry his mother off him, standing her back to look at her. "Hi Mum, yeah, two, but I'm fine you don't need to-" but he was cut off by a sharp shove to his shoulders "Thomas Stanley Holland, you have not turned up at your mothers home covered in bruises AGAIN!"

Y/N suppressed another laugh, watching Tom's mother swat him repeatedly whilst she told him off, sparing a glance at Paddy, who was also giggling behind her. She tried to ignore the man who was still stood in the centre of the room, glaring between the two of them in silence, it wasn't her place to make jokes and she didn't want to make any wrong moves.

"Mum! Jesus Christ, I'm SORRY." Tom shouted between laughs and his mothers slaps to his torso, and she grabbed both of his biceps and shook him a little. "Be more careful! I can't be losing my darling baby boy anytime soon." She placed another kiss on his forehead and held the side of his face, and Y/N teared up slightly at the obvious amount of love that they shared for each other, before the looming figure in the centre of the room stepped forwards.

"My love, you might want to spend a minute with our other guest too." She gasped before rushing over to Y/N. "God, where are my manners?! I'm so sorry, I was just so excited to see Tom, you must be Y/N. It's so lovely to see you, Tom has told me so much about you." Tom groaned from beside her. "Mum, please." A slight blush formed on his cheeks, and Y/N giggled. "I'm Nicola, but everyone calls me Nikki, can I get you a drink? Glass of wine?" She took Y/N's hand as she led her over to the cabinet on the other side of the room, and Y/N thought she was just being polite until she spied Tom striding over to the opposite corner of the room with the man who'd approached them earlier.

"Don't mind them, it'll be business talk - Dom will want to get it over with before dinner. He's always telling Tom how much he's ruining the business, I think he's doing a wonderful job - I just wish he wasn't doing the job at all." She sighed as she poured herself a glass of white wine, holding the bottle up to Y/N, who nodded - as she looked down and poured another, seemingly forming a preemptive distraction as a growl came from the other side of the room.

Y/N whipped round to find, who she assumed from Nikki's earlier statement, Dom, right in Tom's face, who was now stood with his back to the wall - seething, with rage burning in their eyes as they stared at each other. If looks could kill, there would be two corpses on the floor of the living room.

The room stood in silence, and after a second, Y/N remembered that Paddy was also in the room, and she turned her head slowly to where she saw him last. Although he looked a bit startled, otherwise she could tell that Paddy was used to things like this happening, as he nonchalantly sighed and turned to Nikki, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'Again? Do we do something?'

Nikki pursed her lips back at Paddy, and tentatively made her way towards the two men in the corner of the room, placing a hand on each ones shoulder. "Now, now, boys. Don't start this again. Especially not with a guest. This is family business. And where do we save family business for?" Her words glided coolly across the incredibly tense air, and Y/N could see Tom's shoulders drop slightly, as if his mothers touch was gradually calming him. "Dad's office, after dinner." Tom spat, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word 'dad' again, and Y/N wondered if he actually called Dom 'Dad' at all, or if their relationship was so bad that he called him Dom - because that was the second time he'd said it like that, with more venom the second time than the first.

Suddenly, the doors to the living room opened, and there stood Harrison - once again flanked by the twins, and Y/N wondered if they always arrived like that. "Uh, I feel like we've interrupted something." Harrison started, glancing around the room, obviously feeling the tension. "I just came to say that dinner's ready...if we want to, y'know...make our way down." Y/N tightened her grip on the glass of wine, catching Harrison's eye, before looking over to Tom, who still hadn't looked away from Dom.

"Yes, yes of course. Come on boys! We don't want the food to be cold before we can eat it, do we?" Nikki sounded harsh on the last two words, as if she was internally fighting whether to tell the two men off or not. It was Dom that broke eye contact first, immediately softening slightly when he looked down at Nikki, before holding his arm out for her to take - blinking, before muttering a stern 'Of course.' before leading her downstairs. 

Y/N still stood in the other corner of the room by the cabinet, unsure on what to do. She knew she should probably check on Tom, who had still not moved from where he was stood against the wall earlier - except now he was looking towards the doors to the room instead of where Dom's eyes were earlier. Paddy cleared his throat and Tom's gaze snapped to him, and in a split second he straightened up and pulled his jacket back into place - licking his lips before moving forwards towards the doors and holding his hand out for Y/N to take.

Y/N's feet stuttered for a short second before she made her way over to him, placing her hand in his as they made their way towards the dining room, Paddy trailing beside them. "Relax. It's normal, I'm used to it. It'll be fine. Just don't let him provoke you." Tom whispered as they entered the room, finding three chairs left free on the closest side of the table. 

Y/N sat in the one to the left, next to Harrison, whilst Tom sat down in the one in the middle, next to Paddy who sat in the far right chair. Y/N took a shaky breath, passing a small smile to Nikki, who sat on her left at one end of the table, before taking a small sip of wine - and there, they all sat in silence, nobody even touching their food yet, and Y/N wondered if they'd eat at all, if someone was supposed to say grace, if she was supposed to do something - until Nikki spoke up.

"Right, go on then everyone! Tuck in! Jesus, you'd think you boys had never sat down for dinner with us before." Earning a few chuckles from the boys, Y/N glanced down to the other side of the table to Dom, who was stoic as always, and she realised he was glaring at her. She snapped her head back round, lifting the fork to her mouth. Chew and swallow, Y/N. Chew and swallow. Breathe. Sip. Chew and swallow. Y/N thought as small talk started amongst the table, feeling Tom's hand land upon her thigh to calm her.

It wasn't long before Y/N was snapped out of her thoughts to the sound of Dom's voice, and she wished it wasn't his voice that she'd heard. "So, Y/N. Tell me, how did this THING between you and my son start? Did he invite you to work for him? A live-in bartender, perchance?" He spat, and Tom whipped round to glare at him, gripping the edge of the table until his knuckles turned blue. Y/N choked on her wine, staring wide-eyed at Dom, who had the ghost of a smirk on his face, just like she'd seen on Tom many times before - and the clatter of cutlery echoed through the house as both Harrison and the twins dropped it to their plates, also turning to stare at Dom, and Y/N turned to look at Nikki, who had paused with her fork halfway up to her mouth, also staring at Dom with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open.

It took Y/N a few seconds to remember she was being spoken to, and the air caught in her chest. Letting out a shaky breath, she turned back to face Dom, before saying "How...How did you know?" She hoped she'd said the right thing, as she could almost hear Tom's teeth grinding together, his jaw looking like it would pop right through the skin again, as he stared harshly at Dom. Dom, who was now fully smirking, avoided Tom's glare, looking directly at Y/N.

"Well. It wouldn't be the first time, would it, Thomas?"

-

Word Count: 3349.

A/N: Hi! Sorry this was updated hugely later than I said it would be, if you read the A/N chapter I put up before this chapter you'll know this already, but I had some stuff come up so I've spent the past week super stressed and I didn't want to write the chapter for the sake of it because I knew it wouldn't be as well written as I wanted it to be, and I knew it would come out...well, shit, lol.

Anyway, this was a bit of a filler chapter, as I wanted to set the scene, but I didn't wanna make the chapter too long by putting the entire dinner night in one chapter, but I wanted to set the next chapter up.

HOWEVER, to make up for not updating now that I've sorted out my stuff and I'm a lot less stressed than I was, I'm gonna make a start on the next chapter straight away, and I aim to have it up tonight, as it's only lunchtime right now so I have plenty of time.

And as usual, thank you so much for reading if you've read this far! I'm so sorry for the late update, again. I'm hoping you're all enjoying this, even if this chapter was a bit of a filler and a cliffhanger, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter, I promise!

All my love

\- Red.


	10. Last Time.

The silence in the room was almost deafening, and Y/N could hear everything in her throat gurgle and click as she swallowed thickly. 'Wouldn't be the first time.' Dom had said. She could feel the heat in her face as she stared down at her plate, wondering if she was being looked at by anyone - but she didn't have the guts to look up.

"Dominic-" Nikki started before Dom's hand shot up to silence her, sparing her a warning glance before looking back at Y/N. Tom looked like he'd launch himself over the table at Dom at any second, and Y/N moved her hand from her lap to his thigh, as she turned to stare back at Dom. What was she supposed to respond to that?

"No, Nicola." Dom spat, still holding Y/N's gaze. "I want to know if he's fucked up again, just like he did last time." Tom let out a harsh exhale through his nose, and Y/N froze. Last time? Was there another girl before her?

"La- Last time?" She squeaked, now noticing Harrison was looking at her as she looked around the table, an apologetic look in his eyes. "What do you mean, like last time?" Dom scoffed before prying his eyes away and turning to Tom. "And you haven't even told her, you're weaker than I thought."

Tom's chair slammed backwards to the floor and before anyone could react, he was looming over Dom, shirt balled in his fists as they came nose to nose. "Don't you FUCKING dare, Dom. Don't." He spat, and Y/N's hand shot to her mouth as Nikki gasped, Dom gripped Tom's wrists as they started shaking each other back and forth, fighting for dominance, Dom rising out of his chair and spinning Tom around to push his back flat onto the dining room table, knocking glasses over in the process with a great smash, wine pooling across the hardwood.

"DOMINIC HOLLAND, YOU LET GO OF OUR SON RIGHT NOW." Nikki screeched from the other end of the table, shooting up from her chair and sprinting her way towards them as fast as her stiletto heels would take her, as the two men struggled against each other, and Y/N noticed that Harrison and the twins had also shot up - yet she remained sat in her chair, frozen, confused, and scared.

"You can't do ANYTHING right, can you? Sometimes it brings shame to even call you my son!" Dom boomed in Tom's face, and if they weren't humans, Y/N thought Tom might've lunged to bite him. "Dom, let GO of him." Harrison shouted, grabbing the back of Dom's suit jacket before wrapping his hands around his biceps. 

"Dad! Stop! Please!" Poor Paddy, who had Tom lay diagonally across the table in front of him, looked terrified. Tears were welling in his eyes as he shrunk back into his chair, watching his father man handle his brother across the table in terror. He was just a child. This was no situation for a child. 

"Y/N, sweetheart, can you please take Paddy to the living room for me? I'll come and get you when this is sorted." Nikki gasped as she wrapped her hands around Dom's, trying to pry him off his eldest son - who was red in the face as he fought to bring himself back standing from underneath his own father.

-

Y/N jumped into action, grabbing Paddy's arm and pulling him sideways out of his seat, wrapping her other arm around him as she rushed to guide him towards the living room away from the screaming and shouting - shutting the doors behind them. "Are you alright?" Y/N thought the question had come from her, but it had instead come from Paddy, who was looking up at her with concern. She let out a shaky breath, something she seemed to be doing quite often around the Holland's. 

"Yeah, no, I'm fine Paddy, it's me that should be asking that, not the other way round. Does this happen often?" Paddy fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt as he sat down on the sofa, and Y/N sat in the armchair facing him. "Not really, only when Tom's home. I'm sure you've noticed that him and Dad don't exactly get on very well." Y/N's heart broke for Paddy, the poor kid obviously just wanted to have dinner with his family all together for one night without a fight, but with Tom and Dom together - it would seemingly never happen.

"What did Dom mean? By this being like last time?" Y/N asked cautiously, hoping not to hit a sensitive subject. Paddy glanced up at her, sighing as his brows furrowed. "I don't really know if it's my story to tell, it's Tom's." he started, it seemed like he was battling in his own head, trying to decide what could be told and what couldn't. "There was someone before you, last year, Tom's first girlfriend. He doesn't do girlfriends, so we were all surprised when he brought her to dinner." Y/N chuckled sadly, thinking back to a previous conversation of something similar. 

"She was called Aria. Tom met her at the annual summer gala, she came as a plus one of another mob boss. They clicked almost immediately I think, cos a couple of days later she was working for Tom, just like you are, and they fell in love. Tom fell for her so hard, you could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her. It's the same way he looks at you." Y/N thought back to the night of the gala, shuddering at the sight of a broken Tom slumped on the sofa, bloodied and bruised, hours after he'd disappeared - before realising that Paddy had used an odd word. "Wait, she WAS, not is?" Y/N's face buzzed, surely it was a slip up, or he was talking about her in the past tense because she wasn't in their lives anymore.

"Yeah, was. She died." Paddy swallowed. "I liked Aria, she was pretty and really kind, and she'd always play games with me while Mum was cooking and Dad and my brothers were in the office." Y/N's breath hitched, Paddy's last sentence ghosted over her and her hands started to shake as she noticed Paddy's bottom lip quivering. She died. She died. She died. DIED.

"How...How did she die, Paddy?" Y/N hoped that it was an accident, in the nicest way possible, a car crash or something of the sort, but what Paddy said next chilled her to the bone. "They killed her. The family that brought her to the Gala. They found out about her and Tom, thought the best way to bring Tom down just as he'd become head of the family was to break his heart." He swallowed thickly, and Y/N forgot how to breathe. 

"We didn't know, for a day or so, we thought she was just busy, and Tom said he'd not heard from her. He was here, for dinner, when the doorbell rang. There was a disc, on the floor, in an envelope." Tears were streaming down Paddy's face now, Y/N could tell this was traumatic for him to remember, and her heart broke again for the frail boy that sat in front of her.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to, Paddy. I'll understand." Y/N whispered, but he shook his head and continued. "They'd filmed it. It was hours long, Tom skimmed through it right after dinner in the office with the others, I was outside the door, I could hear her. She was screaming, just screaming and crying." He hiccuped, his tears rushing down his face.

"I heard Dad say something about it being hours long. I kept hearing them click through it, and every time there were just screams. Aria's screams." He blinked hard, forcing the tears from his eyes so he could see properly, before looking up at her. "They slit her throat, right in front of the camera, right at the end. I heard it. The blade cutting through her skin, and the gurgling of her choking on her own blood."

Y/N froze again, her hand slowly rising to her mouth. She was also crying now, her skirt becoming damp from the tears falling from her chin rapidly. "They don't know I know, they don't know I was outside the door. I ran to my room as soon as I heard that." Paddy whispered. "Tom went on a rampage after that, something broke inside of him, he was never the same, that's why he's got the name he has now. That's why everyone knows him as the merciless man he's made of himself."

Y/N didn't speak, but gave him a look to push him on, now that the worst was seemingly over. "He wouldn't stop. Every day there was a body to dispose of, every day there were screams coming from his office or the basement. He didn't talk to anyone for months, and all he did was drink. He was so drunk all the time, Y/N. I thought he was gonna kill himself with it." Paddy looked up at her again, pure pain on his face. "He cried, he cried every single night. He cried for hours and hours, I don't think he slept for days at a time, he just cried." Y/N let out a choked sob, hand still over her mouth. Looking down at the broken boy in front of her, her heart broke again, wondering if Paddy could ever live a normal life after everything he'd seen and heard.

"I'm so sorry, Paddy. That's so horrible. I had no idea." Y/N realised that this is why Tom never talked about anything, never showed his feelings, never thought about anyone but himself, didn't understand why other people cared about things when he didn't. Paddy looked up at her, as if he knew that all the pieces had clicked into place.

"Please be careful, Y/N. I see the way you look at him, and the way he looks at you. He's a lot more cautious now, a lot safer, but he can't read minds. Please don't end up like her. I can't see him like that again. They told me that she'd moved country, but I know what happened, and I can't let that happen to you too." And once again, Paddy burst into tears, prompting Y/N to shoot up and sit beside him, wrapping her arms around him - shushing him and stroking his hair as she tried to block out the clattering and smashing coming from downstairs.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." she cried, her tears falling into his hair as she tried to calm him, and he gripped her arms tight as his body racked with sobs. "I promise I won't end up like her. I promise. I'll be careful." And there they sat, holding each other in sorrow, as Y/N thought about the man that felt like home, and how his heart was shattered into pieces, how he must be filled with pain and trauma, and most of all - anger. She thought about the way he looked at her, and how soft he was - as if she'd shatter if he touched her too hard. She thought about how paranoid he was when they went to breakfast that morning at the cafe, how his eyes darted around the street while they were totally exposed to the world - but her thoughts were stopped short as the living room doors opened and Nikki entered, followed by Harrison, who both immediately rushed to their side in panic.

-

Paddy looked up at his mother, gasping, before looking between her and Harrison saying "I told her. I'm sorry, she had to know. She doesn't deserve the same." and Nikki croaked in pain as she wrapped her arms around the both of them, holding them tight. Y/N looked up at Harrison, who almost looked like he was about to cry himself as he looked down at Paddy, learning for the first time that Paddy knew what happened to Aria as he inhaled sharply.

"Pads...Fuck, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you knew. We were just trying to protect you." He sighed as he knelt beside them, also wrapping his arms around them, and there they sat, a tangle of arms and tears. 

Nikki stood abruptly, as Tom burst into the room - and looking down at the scene in front of him, and Y/N's tear stained face, he already knew. "Fuck, Y/N. I-" She shook her head as she sped towards him, throwing her arms around him and holding him tightly. "I know, I'm so sorry Tom, I'm so sorry." and Tom's arms rose to clutch her tightly to his chest, face nestling in her neck. She could feel his face scrunch up, as if he was trying to hold back tears. Though the moment didn't last long, as Dom entered the room.

"Tom. Harrison. Office. Now." Harsh as always, and Tom planted a kiss on the top of her head as he left the room, holding her gaze until he turned the corner and couldn't see her anymore. There was a tap on her shoulder, and there stood Nikki with another glass of wine, handing it to her as she guided Y/N to the chaise lounge by the fire.

"Please look after him, sweetheart. If you look after him, he'll look after you twice as hard. I see it in him, it's the same way he was with Aria. I never thought I'd see him like that again." She sighed, gazing into the fire as if it was enticing her. "Nikki, I would never hurt him. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could." And it was then that Y/N realised that she held something much greater than a hard crush on Tom. She was falling for him, plummeting into the realms of love.

She took a large sip of wine, swallowing thickly before Nikki turned to her again. "We will do our best to keep you safe. I promise. Me, Harrison, the twins. All of us. We can't let what happened last time happen again." She paused for a second, tilting the glass and watching the liquid swirl. "We could spend some time together, if you'd like. We could go shopping, bake together, have movie nights. I could tell you stories of Tom, the twins, and even Harrison. He might as well be my son, he's been around since Tom was 4." Y/N let out a laugh, and the pain in her chest subsided, slowly calming down, and she realised how lonely Nikki must be, alone in a house full of men. "I'd love that, Nikki. I'm so sorry things went so awfully tonight. I can't help but feel like it's my fault."

Nikki shook her head quickly, raising her hand to shake too. "No, no sweetheart. Of course it isn't your fault. It's just the way Dom and Tom are. Always fighting, nothing Tom does is ever good enough for Dom. That's why Tom rarely comes back now that he has his own home. It could never be your fault, it's my husbands. He can't help it. He's just a vicious soul, you'd have to be to run a mob for 35 years." She smiled sadly at Y/N, who smiled back, before they started making small talk, passing the time until whatever was happening in the office was done.

-

The drive home was tense, to say the least. Tom was evidently extremely upset, and maybe still fuming from the altercation with his father earlier. Y/N was unsure what to say, the thoughts swirling in her mind were heavy to say the least, and she wondered if Tom wanted to talk about it at all.

"It wasn't your fault, it's mine. You didn't know. He's right. I should've told you." He broke her out of her thoughts, now looking at her as he parked the car at the bottom of the steps to his home. "No, no, don't apologise Tom. We had no idea he'd spring that on us, nobody did. It's nobody's fault." She raised her hand to rest on his on the steering wheel, and he placed his other on top, stroking the back of her hand, giving it a light squeeze before stepping out of the car, making his way around to her as he usually did and leading her inside, hand in hand.

-

Y/N sat on the balcony, next to Tom - who sat in the other chair beside her, cigarette between his fingers as he looked out over the city like he usually did, deep in thought. She could see the tears welling in his eyes, but she didn't draw attention to it, and as he threw the cigarette into the ash tray, she took his hand; standing from the chair and leading him inside towards the bed to lie down.

Y/N was the one to pull him in this time, his head resting in the valley of her chest, and it was then; that Tom broke. His body racked with sobs, and she said nothing, she just held him, just like he had held her before - peppering soft kisses to the top of his head whilst she stroked the side of his face, down to his shoulder and across his back, then back up, repeatedly.

"Shhh." she soothed him, and he whimpered into her. Her heart broke for him, which seemed to be happening a lot tonight, and she screwed her eyes shut, her bottom lip quivering and brows furrowing as she tried not to cry for him. The man she once saw as terrifying, a stone wall that not even the biggest of explosives could break down - was now cowering in her arms, sobbing and whimpering like a small child who had been told off.

"Tom, my love." she whispered as she tilted his head up with her fingers, like he had done to her many times before. "It's okay. It's over now, nobody is going to hurt me, it's not going to happen again. Not ever. Please don't cry." Her voice cracking on the last part, as he shifted himself up to sit back against the pillows, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she sunk into the gap between his arm and his chest, breathing in the faint scent of vanilla that she'd grown to love.

"I promise nothing will happen to you. It's not happening again, I know better now. Nobody will ever hurt you, not while I'm around. Never." He whispered, placing a kiss to the top of her head. Her hand trailed across his chest, up and down the scars littered across it before wrapping around the side of his face - rubbing her thumb over it before gliding it back down to rest over his own hand that lay on his stomach as they stayed there in comfortable silence, taking each other in.

"Y/N?" Tom whispered again, and she propped herself up to look at him. "I...I need to tell you something." Y/N's breath caught in her chest, and she hoped that it wouldn't be more bad news. They'd had enough sadness for one night, but yet she braced herself, preparing for the worst.

"I...I love you." Tom stared deeply into her eyes, as if he was looking right through them into her soul, and she didn't notice the tears threatening to spill from them, both of them. "I've loved you ever since I first spoke to you, and I know I was rude but I was trying not to fall for you. I was so afraid of the same thing that happened last time happening to you, I couldn't let that happen, not again." He took a shaky breath.

"I love the way that you stand when you're talking to someone, as if you're daring them to cross you. I love the way that when you tie your hair up there's those little hairs that aren't quite long enough that frame your face. I love the way you laugh, even the cackle when you find something really REALLY funny. I love the way you smile so brightly at everything as if someone's given you a puppy. I love the way your nose scrunches when you're trying NOT to smile at something. I love the way your lips curl when you're embarrassed and how the blush creeps round to your neck. I love how soft your hands are, and how dainty they are." Y/N was crying now, staring up at him as if he was the only person in the entire world.

"I love the way that you walk in a morning when you wake up in a good mood, the little bounce when you get where you're going or you go up the stairs. I love the way that constantly challenge me to be stronger every single day. I love the way that every single outfit you wear clings to you in all the right places. I love the way that every time I wake up, you're even more beautiful than the day before. I love the way that your hair sticks out in a morning, so untamed. I love the way that you sing in the shower like you're on stage at a concert." Y/N laughed and she slapped his chest, and Tom laughed back - his tongue sticking out between his teeth.

"I love the way that you get on with Harrison and the twins so well, and how quickly you were to care for Paddy tonight." A frown passed over his face, but he cleared it away and continued. "I love the way that you make your coffee, and how accurately you measure out the sugar and milk like if you get it wrong you'll have to start all over again. I love the way your face lights up when you see me. I love the way that you aren't afraid to tell me I'm being a dickhead. I love the little things you do to show you care, like making sure I eat breakfast." Y/N sniffed and wiped the tears from her face, resting her hand on his cheek.

"I love the way you gush about things when you're excited, like when we got back from dress shopping and you bombarded Harrison with the dress details like he was one of your girl friends." She cackled and he grinned, pulling her closer. "And I love that every day, I fall in love with you a little bit more, and I hope it'll never stop. I love you, Y/N Y/L/N. I love you SO fucking much, I want you to be mine, properly." 

Y/N flushed red and dipped her head, only to have Tom put 2 signature fingers underneath her chin and lift it back up. "If you'll have me." He whispered, and her eyes welled again. "Of course I'll have you. I love you, Tom Holland. It took tonight for me to realise that. I never want to lose you. Not ever."

Tom pulled her face to his, and their lips locked in a passionate, love-fuelled embrace, as tears streamed down both of their faces, making a salty pool collect at their chins. They broke away, resting their foreheads against each other, giggling - and as she looked up at him, Y/N realised that she wanted to be his forever and a day, just as he wanted her too - and with that, they drifted off to sleep, tangled around each other as if they'd lose each other if they let go.

-

Word Count: 3909.

A/N: YEET HAHA HOW DRAMATIC WAS THIS CHAPTER?

I'm sorry lmao, I've wanted to write this part since before I even started writing the book so I got SO overly excited. It was the first idea I had, and the one that spurred me to start this book in the first place.

I know Tom is sweet irl, but this is an AU where Tom's not Spiderman Tom Holland but Londons biggest mob boss Tom Holland, he gotta be guarded and aggressive most of the time and only a little bit sweet lol.

Anyway, I'm gonna get started on the next chapter, hopefully at least writing half of it and saving it as a draft if I don't finish it, just to make up for leaving y'all for like a week lmao. (Again, IM SORRY)

And again, thank you SO much for reading. This book is slowly becoming my baby, and when I first started writing I thought I'd get like 10 reads in like 3 months but we've almost hit 150 in like 2 weeks? Maybe a week? Idk, quarantine got me bare losing track of timescale. I have no idea how long it's been at this point, I've basically been in quarantine since March lmao.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I really hope you're enjoying the book, I want nothing more than for people to enjoy my writing and I'm so excited to share the workings of my brain with you all lol

And as always, 

all my love

-Red <3


	11. You've Met With A Terrible Fate, Haven't You?

The next few days were spent training with Tom, who stayed true to his word on bringing her into his world. On Sunday, Tom had trained her with guns, teaching her how to hold them, how to load them, and how to shoot them - practising outside in the garden with targets that Harrison had set up. On Monday, they'd trained in hand to hand combat, and at one point - Y/N had knocked Tom to the floor, causing Harrison and the twins who were watching from the sidelines to roar with laughter, as Tom rose and dusted himself off, looking utterly embarrassed that he'd been caught off guard. On Tuesday, they trained in stealth, spending hours creeping around the house and the garden, trying to stay hidden from Harrison and the twins who were trying to find them, coming to an end when Tom was so busy looking at Y/N in the tight combat gear that he tripped right into Harrison's view, before retiring for the day to the upstairs lounge in a huff, changing into comfier clothes beforehand.

-

Y/N's legs were sprawled over Tom's lap, leaning against the armrest, as he sat legs spread on the sofa - furiously mashing the controllers buttons as he was caught in combat in one of the Uncharted games, and he huffed as he died for the 6th time. Harrison cackled from the floor, leaning back against the sofa and reached for the controller for his turn. "You're just not good at games, mate. Deal with it." And Tom reached over to smack him on the head, earning another round of laughter from all of them. 

Y/N looked around the room, finding solace in how normal this felt, and how relaxed everyone was - especially Tom, who had tried so incredibly hard to be serious in training her over the past few days, and she knew it was because of Aria. As if he knew she was thinking about him, he turned to look at her, grinning before sticking his tongue out at her, and she stuck her tongue out back at him; before he rubbed a hand up and down her shin, turning back to the screen to watch Harrison make his way through the fight Tom had failed at multiple times without a scratch - causing Tom to huff again and hoist Y/N's legs off him as he headed to grab another glass of bourbon.

She chuckled at his small tantrum as he sat back down, now curling her legs up underneath her. Tom glanced over at her, and though he didn't have to say anything, his eyes simply told her 'I love you.' and she squinted back, returning the notion, and he smiled softly at her, raising a hand to stroke the side of her face - seconds before Harrison threw the controller at him, hitting him in the groin with a choked groan and the laughter started again as Tom launched himself off the sofa to wrestle with him.

-

The next morning, Y/N stood in front of the mirror, not looking at herself, but at Tom, as she watched him behind her, the muscles in his shoulders flexing as he reached over his head to pull a t-shirt on. She blushed furiously as he turned around catching her eye, quirking an eyebrow and smirking. "You really do just like to stare at me, don't you?" He chuckled, and she blushed more, pretending to fiddle with the button on her jeans and fix her belt. "Maybe. How could I not?" She whispered as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing a kiss on her temple. "It should be me that's always staring at you, an absolute goddess." Y/N blushed even more, if that was physically possible.

"You ready?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just said what he'd said, and she nodded, taking his hand and heading downstairs and outside to the car.

Pulling up to her apartment block, Y/N looked up at the rows of windows in front of her, trying to remember the last time she'd even seen the building - and debated stopping by the pub afterwards for an afternoon drink to see Steve and Jay, she missed them dearly, and she'd almost neglected them after everything they'd done for her.

Making her way up the stairs to her door, Tom trailing just behind her, Y/N stopped in her tracks. Her apartment door was cracked open, and Tom had noticed too - placing a hand on her shoulder and softly pushing her behind him as he took his pistol out from the inside of his jacket, holding it towards the floor as they slowly crept forwards.

Y/N hoped that the landlord hadn't unlocked her apartment and removed everything else she owned, considering she hadn't been there in weeks. As Tom pushed the door open further with a creak, Y/N let out a soft gasp and her hand raised to her mouth. Her apartment had been tipped upside-down, all the cabinets in the kitchen were open, every drawer and cupboard too. She looked across to see her clothes strewn across the floor in the bedroom, and books littered beside them.

Tom made a quick round of the apartment, noting that nobody was inside, before Y/N made her way around what she once called home - glazing over all of her belongings that had been thrown around as if a hurricane had passed through. Her bedroom window was wide open, that led to the fire escape steps, and every drawer in her desk was empty as it's contents were scattered around it.

"Tom...Do you think?...." Y/N trailed off, and Tom gave her a grave look. Someone had been here, looking for her, looking for information on her. Tears brimmed her eyes, and Y/N feared for her safety, as Tom wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. I'll find out who did this. I promise. I'll get Harrison and the twins to come with some of the lads, dust for prints and try and find any evidence left behind, and I'll get them to pack everything up and bring it back to the house, alright?" He placed his hands on both sides of her face, as she hoisted the strap of her empty holdall further onto her shoulder. "Pick up anything you immediately need, and anything you don't want the lads to see, like underwear and stuff." He blushed. "Try to touch as little as possible, try not to move anything that doesn't need to be moved, okay?"

Y/N made her way around her apartment, placing a few sentimental items into her holdall, like the blanket her grandmother had knitted for her when she was a baby, her childhood teddybear, and more books that had been left untouched, still resting on the shelves - which she thought was suspicious considering everything else had been knocked to the floor. She made a mental note to mention that to Tom later, making her way around her bedroom before her eyes landed on the top of her desk. "Tom. TOM!" She yelled and less than a second later he was in the doorway. "What?" He said, before following her gaze to the top of her desk. 

There, surrounded by polaroids, lay a piece of paper, and all it read was "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" in blood red ink. Tom leaned over taking it in, and Y/N noticed that the polaroids surrounding the paper were of the two of them. Polaroids of them having breakfast at the cafe, of them inside the dress shop, at the gala, stopped at the traffic lights the night they'd had dinner with his parents, and another of them entering Tom's home that same night - hand in hand.

Tom was silent, but Y/N could tell that he was raging, noticing his hands balled into fists and shaking at his sides. "Fuck!" He yelled, making her jump, as he ran his hands through his hair and spun on his heel - storming out into the living room, taking out his phone. "Harrison, bring the twins to the apartment, and bring the kit. Fuck. We have to do something, and quickly. It's happening again."

Y/N's blood ran cold at the last sentence, she wondered if this had happened with Aria, and before she knew it, she'd sunk to the floor against the bedroom wall - barely breathing, she could see Tom in front of her but she couldn't even move her eyes from the floorboards between her feet, everything echoed and her vision went blurry. She was having a panic attack, and before she knew it - her head fell to the side and her vision went dark.

Y/N awoke what must have been minutes later on her sofa, and she shot up to be met with Tom's hands grasping her shoulders as she raised to sitting. "Hey, hey. Calm down, you're alright. You passed out, take it easy, darling." Y/N let out a shaky breath, placing a hand over one of his as she sunk back into the pillows; Tom raising a hand to her forehead - brushing her hair out of her face.

"You're okay. Harrison and the twins are working on it. Nobody's gonna hurt you, my love. We just have to be careful, which means unfortunately for you - you'll have to be with me at all times." He winked, and she giggled, noticing his face become less tense, letting out a breath, after noticing she'd calmed.

It wasn't long before Y/N's apartment had been looked over and packed up, and she and Tom were making their way back to the manor; the radio softly playing in the background as she held her hand limply out of the window, resting her head on the doorframe, feeling the wind rush between her fingers.

-

As the weeks passed, Y/N became increasingly frustrated at being stuck inside, not even being able to go out into the garden; and having to stand at the cracked open door if she went to the balcony to smoke, only allowing enough space for her hand and face to hang out. She enjoyed being outside, she enjoyed breathing in the cold air and she missed being able to sit in the frost-covered garden looking out at London below. 

She looked over at the clock, realising it had just hit 1AM, Tom had been up all night the night beforehand and had already left to go to bed, but Y/N had told him she'd come to bed later as she still had things to unpack into her room; and in a brief moment of stupidity, she found herself pulling on a pair of leggings, a hoodie - paired with a matching black beanie, and her trainers, before quietly making her way downstairs and out of the front door.

Y/N relished in the air hitting her face as she ran down the pavement in the neighbourhood - she slowed at the end of the road, looking out over the fields beyond, taking in the stars above and watching her breath billow out and disappear into the sky. She'd missed being outside, and she'd missed running even more. She used to go for a jog every morning after she graduated university, if she wasn't opening at the pub, but since she'd been with Tom - she'd abandoned the routine entirely.

However, expecting not to be bothered by anyone at such a late hour, her relaxation was cut short as she heard the screech of tires coming to a stop and strong arms suddenly wrapping around her from behind as she was seemingly yanked into a car, as she could only see the door and the back of the drivers seat before the grip of a gun hit her in the back of the head, as her vision once again faded to black.

-

Y/N awoke slowly, her heartbeat pounding from the back of her head round to the front, though it didn't take long for her to jolt to a start as she remembered what had happened last. She tried to pull her hands round to her front before realising they were bound behind her, to the back of the chair she was sat in. 

Y/N raised her head as her vision was met with a camera in front of her, and ice filled her veins. 'It's happening again.' she heard Tom echo in her mind. How could she have been so stupid? He'd warned her, he'd warned her so much, and she'd promised Paddy she'd stay safe, but here she was, her limbs bound to a chair in front of a camera - she certainly had met with a terrible fate, indeed.

The door at the side of the dim room creaked, and a shadow appeared - stalking towards her slowly. Y/N froze, shrinking as far back into the chair as she could until she was met with a familiar face, and for a moment - she thought she was hallucinating, before the man before her let out a loud laugh.

"You think you recognise me, yes?" He said in a condescending tone, laughing, and she furrowed her brows. She DID recognise him, because the man stood in front of her was none other than Severino Milani, and Y/N wondered whether the blow she'd received to the head had done more damage than she thought as the image of his corpse spilling blood onto the carpet of Tom's office flashed across her vision.

"Allow me to introduce myself, darling." The man began, and Y/N furrowed her brows again, because they had already met, hadn't they? She wasn't so sure if she was the one with brain damage anymore. "My name is Dante Milani. You may have met my recently dearly departed brother, Severino." Y/N froze, the corpse flashing past her vision again.

"B...Brother?" She croaked, her throat hoarse and sore. "Twins?" He smiled down at her, though it wasn't a kind smile - but rather, a devilish smile. "Oh look, we've got a smart one on our hands, huh?" He bent down to her eye level, grasping her face between his thumb and fingers, squeezing so hard Y/N was sure it would bruise. "Not too smart though. Do you not recognise my voice from the night of the gala? Silly enough to go out at night, and naive enough to think nothing bad would happen to her. A terrible fate....indeed." He drawled, grinning at her, his eyes darkening - such a dark blue they almost turned black.

Y/N felt like she couldn't breathe, as all she could think of was her fate in this damp, cold room. She wondered if Tom knew she was missing, and she wondered if he would find her when he did know as she thought back to the late night conversation they'd had. 'And then we'll both be dead.' Tom's voice floated through her mind, and tears sprouted to her eyes, almost feeling like she'd betrayed him, wondering if she, herself, had led Tom to his death. As if he could read her mind, Dante spoke up again. "Holland knows, if that's what you're thinking about. He very swiftly received a lovely little photo of you still unconscious, bound to that very chair right there." He raised a finger, pointing towards her. 

Bile rose in her throat, and she swallowed thickly, letting the burning subside before whispering "What are you going to do to me?" and Dante boomed with laughter again, his eyes glinting with mischief. "We're going to play a game, little lioness." He growled, and Y/N's eyes widened. "I'm gonna ask you some questions, and you're going to answer. If you don't...Well." He chuckled before making his way over to the table beside the camera that Y/N hadn't even noticed, pulling back the sheet covering it to reveal a large display of tools and weapons.

Y/N whimpered, and Dante boomed with laughter for a third time, evidently finding pure joy in her fear, as he trailed his hand across the table - teasing her almost, before landing on a dagger. Gripping the handle, he lifted it up, letting it glint in the light above the table. Turning to look at her, his eyes twinkled again, and before she knew it, Y/N found the words leaving her mouth. "He'll find me, you know. He'll find me and you'll end up just like your piece of shit brother." She spat, Dante held her gaze as he pressed a button on top of the camera, and it beeped - a red light appearing on the front.

He made his way towards her, lashing the arm that was holding the blade out across her face, and Y/N could feel the blood trickling down her face as she cried out in pain. "Stop, please!" She cried, but that did nothing, as Dante loomed behind her, bending down to the same level as her, before growling "Holland! Lovely for you to be here. Look who we have, we weren't joking around, dear boy." Y/N felt fingers run through her hair, and she cringed - pulling as far away as she could from him. 

"Y/N!" she heard, and her head snapped around, frantically looking for the source, until she noticed a phone lay on the table below the camera. He'd called Tom, he could hear her. "Livestreaming this to you, Thomas, was my best idea yet." Dante chuckled. "Not only can you hear her scream, but this time - you can see it happen in real time." Y/N whimpered. This time. This time. Her thoughts flooded back to Paddy sitting before her in tears, telling her about Aria, and she wondered if Dante was the one that had killed her.

"Y/N, are you okay?" She heard Tom's voice come from the phone again. "I'm okay." she croaked, though if he was watching whatever the camera was displaying, he'd know she was lying; as the blood seeped out of the gash on her face down to her chin, dropping onto her chest. It was at this point that Y/N realised she'd been stripped down to her underwear, and she immediately felt exposed as blood ran down the valley of her chest and down to her bellybutton, almost pooling in it before trickling down to her underwear.

"Now, little lioness." Dante cooed in her ear, his hot breath fanning her face, and she cringed away from him again. "Tell me, you know about the lovely Aria, yes?" Y/N gasped, and she softly nodded, causing him to chuckle again. "And do you know why we stole her life from Tom?" Y/N stared forwards at the camera, shaking her head. "She was to be my wife, you know." He growled into her ear, and Y/N felt her heart stop. Tom had stolen Dante's soon-to-be wife from him. That's why Dante had killed her, to hurt Tom just like he and Aria had hurt Dante.

"Let her go, Milani. We can sort this out. Leave her out of it." Tom's voice came from the speaker again, and Y/N felt hot tears falling down her face, mixing with the drying blood. Dante circled her, bending down again to face her. "You disgust me." She growled, and she spat right into his face, causing Dante to recoil in disgust - wiping his face free of her spit, and Y/N found herself grinning at him, blood mixing with the spit in her mouth - staining her teeth a blood red. She wondered how she looked through someone else's eyes, intimidating, maybe even psychopathic - she hoped.

"Little BITCH!" He roared, and before Y/N could regret her decision, he plunged the knife into her thigh all the way up to the hilt, and she was sure he'd hit the bone at some point as she screamed - thrashing against the bindings. "Dante! Stop it. Please. Let her go." Tom screamed from the phone, and Y/N's head lolled to the side, breathing heavily as she lazily peered at the camera lens.

"Tom." she whispered, voice cracking in pain, not having the strength to lift her head again out of pure shock. "Y/N, darling, don't worry, we'll find you, I promise." She heard Tom's voice echo, he sounded far away, he was muttering something to someone else, Y/N recognised Harrison's faint voice in the background, and her vision spun as she began to see double. 

"Oh...How sweet." Dante seethed, before bringing the back of his hand straight across Y/N's face, knocking her head to the opposite side. She groaned, unable to pick her head back up - but she didn't need to, as Dante grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her head to sit straight. Y/N peered down at her leg, noticing the knife was still impaled in it, blood pouring out either side.

"Now, you're gonna tell me everything you know about your lovely Tom, aren't you, little lioness?" Dante cooed again, and Y/N struggled to keep her eyes open, before looking him dead in the eye and simply saying "No." Dante growled again, pulling at her hair and she cried out again, feeling the back of her head shoot with white hot pain, and she wondered if her skull was cracked. 

"Why. Not." Dante spat in her face, and Y/N gave him a lazy smile before saying "Because I love him." before she was met with another backhand across the face, Dante roaring "Tell me!" to which she replied "No. I love him." She saw Dante raise his leg, and kick the chair sideways, toppling over, her face meeting the concrete floor with a smack, and she fell unconscious once more.

-

Word Count: 3582.

A/N: Hi! Just a quick one to say I had to split this part into 2 parts because otherwise this chapter is gonna be like 8000 words and I KNOW none of y'all are gonna read a chapter that long lmao, so when this is published I'll be writing the next chapter immediately before I lose the ideas and flow.

As always, thank you for reading!

All my love,

\- Red.


	12. You'll Look BADASS.

When Y/N woke again, she was still on her side, but the room was empty. The light on the camera was now off, but that was the least important thing at the moment as Y/N noticed the sounds seemingly coming from above her, and she was almost sure she heard a gunshot - and she wondered if Milani was going about business as usual whilst he left her to rot on the floor or if Tom had found her.

She tried to breathe as quietly as she could, which proved difficult whilst lay on her side with her arms behind her, trying her hardest to listen to the commotion upstairs, joy sparking in her as she heard a faint yell of her name coming from above. Tom had found her, and she cleared her throat as she tried to scream for him. "Tom!" she cried "I'm down here! Hurry, please!" 

Y/N struggled against the restraints, wincing at the cable cutting into her wrists and ankles, as she noticed they'd broke the skin, but she didn't have to struggle for long before the door burst open - Sam and Harry appearing before her. "Jesus Christ, thank fuck we found you. I think Tom's shot at least 20 people already. We couldn't find Milani anywhere though, Tom's going fucking mental." Sam huffed, and Y/N let out a choked sob as Harry cut through the cable ties that bound her limbs together, the air hitting the fresh wounds, helping Sam lift her up as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"That necklace saved your life, you know?" Harry whispered, and Y/N looked down at the padlock chain around her neck that she couldn't bring herself to take off after the gala. Harry took it in his hand and turned it over, holding it up in front of her face, showing Tom's initials carved into the back of the padlock, and a small metal circle in the middle; and she suddenly realised that the padlock was not only a show of his love, but a tracker. He'd suspected foul play all that time ago, and he'd done everything he could to keep her safe without worrying her.

She let out a kind of noise that sounded like a sob mixed with a laugh, as she half-limped towards the door, Harry and Sam helping her up the steps - where she was met with Tom's face, stern and raging, eyes wide with insanity, covered in splattered blood; and for once, she knew it wasn't his.

"Y/N." He breathed as he turned and caught her eye, shoving his gun back in his holster before rushing to take her in his arms as she collapsed into his chest. "I've got you, I've got you darling, I found you, it's alright now." He mumbled into her head, lacing his fingers into her knotted, matted hair as she let out another choked sob. "Come on, let's get you home." He whispered, looping his arm around the back of her knees and picking her up bridal style, carrying her out of the warehouse looking building towards his car.

-

Crashing through the door, Y/N was met with Harrison and Nikki, and behind them - Paddy, who had obviously been crying. He gasped and rushed to Y/N's side as Tom softly put her down on the couch, carefully lifting her legs up to rest in front of her.

"I told you to be careful!" he snapped exasperatedly, and she chuckled weakly at the young boy scolding her. "I'm sorry, Pads. I am. I was stupid, I know. I won't do it again, I know better now, but I'm okay, Tom found me." She breathed, and Paddy sat down beside her, resting his head on her side and a hand on her ribs, as if he was afraid that if he stopped touching her, she'd disappear again.

"But what if he didn't, Y/N? What if...What if..." His eyes filled with tears and Y/N lifted a weak arm to his head, shushing him soothingly. "There's no what if's Pads, he found me, I'm safe now." Tom looked down at the two, almost tearing up at the sweet scene before him, glancing at Sam and Harry rushing back into the room with a large emergency kit, handing it to Tom.

Making his way over to his lovers side, he crouched down beside Paddy, placing a hand on top of her hand that rested on top of his head, before whispering "We need to get that knife out darling, and your face cleaned up." Y/N had forgotten about the knife in her leg, almost used to the pain that shot through her every time she moved.

She nodded, swallowing as Harrison appeared above her head, holding out a rolled up towel above her face, and she realised what was happening; opening her mouth to bite down. Paddy had got up and rushed into Nikki's arms, who looked terrified, her mascara leaving streaks down her face, burying his face into her stomach.

With one swift movement, and no countdown, Tom yanked the knife from Y/N's thigh, and she let out a blood curdling scream; eyes scrunching closed tightly, and she was worried she might actually bite through the towel in her mouth. As Tom applied pressure to her thigh, lifting her leg towards her chest, but not all the way, raising it above her heart, waiting for the wound to slow down bleeding before he carefully disinfected the area, Harrison handed him a threaded needle.

Y/N's eyes widened, forgetting how deep the wound was, and Tom gave her a sympathetic look before he pierced Y/N's thigh with the needle, causing her to yelp in surprise. She felt incredibly exposed, with everyone standing over her in this state, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her head - thinking back to Tom's speech of why he loved her to take her mind off it.

A loop of thread. 'I love the way you laugh.' Another loop. 'I love the way your nose scrunches when you're trying not to smile at something.' Another loop, Y/N closed her eyes. 'I love the way that every time I wake up, you're even more beautiful than the day before.' Another loop of thread pulled through. 'I love the way that you sing in the shower.' A fifth loop pulled through her skin. 'I love the way that you make your coffee.' Six. 'I love that every day, I fall in love with you a little bit more.' Seven. 'I love you, Y/N Y/L/N.' Eight. Tom pulled and tied off the stitch, looping a bandage around Y/N's thigh as she groaned, eyes rolling back in her head as Harrison took the towel from her mouth.

Tom stood to sit next to her side on the sofa, hovering over her face and inspecting the gash that ran straight from the middle of her forehead, down across her eye, missing her actual eye - stopping just under her eyebrow and starting again in the middle of her bottom eyelid, ending at her right cheekbone. She winced as he touched it, and so did he, turning her head to look at it closer, before lifting a bottle of skin glue up to her face, calling for Harrison to help. Y/N glanced to the left behind the sofa at Nikki, who was biting her lip so hard it looked like the might draw blood, and she offered a soft smile, which Nikki returned, before wincing at Tom pushing her skin together, whilst Harrison worked his way around Tom's hands, placing surgical tape over the freshly glued wound, and there they both sat for a short while - until Tom thought it had been long enough to let go of her face.

"You better be careful with both of those, I'm not stitching and gluing you up every single day, y'know?" He chuckled, grinning at her, and she grunted, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Asshole." She grumbled, raising laughs out of Harrison, the twins, and even Nikki and Paddy. Tom slid his arms underneath her, helping her sit up on the sofa, lifting her thigh to rest her foot on a pillow on the coffee table in front of her, and before he could sit beside her, Paddy had already rushed behind him, throwing himself onto the sofa beside Y/N, and it was only then that Y/N noticed there was a dog in the room.

"Jesus Christ, since when was there a dog in here?" She gasped, and Tom chuckled, wrapping his arms around the short staffie. "This...is Tessa. The love of my life and my princess." Tessa. Y/N thought back, not a sister or an old lover, his DOG. She laughed at her misunderstanding, raising a hand to her face - being careful not to touch the freshly fixed up wound. "That's gonna leave a nasty scar, y'know?" Paddy looked up at her. "Oh gee, thanks Pads." Y/N laughed again as he shook his head rapidly. "No, no! It'll look super cool. You'll look BADASS." He shouted with a grin, startling a gasp out of Nikki. "Patrick Holland!" she yelped, causing a cackle to rise out of the brothers, and Y/N glanced over, a wide smile on her face, at Tom as he turned to her at the same time, raising the back of his hand to let his fingers glide softly down her cheek.

'I love you.' he mouthed to her, and she smiled harder, mouthing an 'I love you.' back at him.

-

Sleeping was proving difficult, as Y/N usually slept on her side, but with a stab wound on her left thigh, and a gash across the right side of her face - she couldn't lie on either, and she was growing increasingly frustrated in her lack of comfort. Soft snores came from Tom beside her, and she found herself almost jealous of him being able to sleep as she shuffled again - lightly throwing herself back against the mattress and huffing. 

Tom cracked an eye open, and she turned to her left to face him, shooting an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He gave her a lazy smile, snaking an arm across her stomach. "Darling, you could wake me up every night for the rest of my life and I could never be mad, because you'd be here beside me. I'm never losing you again." He croaked as he nestled his face into her neck, planting soft kisses under her ear.

"I was so scared, Tom. I was so worried you wouldn't find me in time. That I'd end up like-" Tom placed his lips on hers, silencing her. "But I did find you in time, and you didn't end up like Aria. You're here, now, with me. That's never changing again. I'm never letting you out of my sight, not ever again." He enveloped her in another kiss, deep and loving. She sighed against his lips, feeling him smirk. "I love you. I love you so much. I know I'm safe, but I'm so sorry, Tom. You could've been killed. I could've been killed." He shook his head, brushing his thumb against her cheek. "I love you. Don't apologise, you didn't mean to. Hell, if I couldn't go anywhere alone, I'd go mad too." Planting a soft peck on her lips, pulling her closer to him, it wasn't long before Y/N started drifting off to sleep, finally, her thoughts drifting to vanilla-infused skin, and a blood splattered face.

-

Word Count: 1911

A/N: This one's super short compared to the rest as I don't wanna bombard y'all with a billion chapters, so I'm gonna finish this one here. Not sure when the next update will come, I've got some stuff to sort out irl and I need to finish The Mandalorian before someone spoils the end of the season for me, so it could hold me up a little lmao, however I'll try and post some updates on my profile if y'all wanna check in there if you wanna know.

And again, as always, thank you for reading! Y'all have no idea how much this means to me:)

All my love,

\- Red. <3


	13. She's Your Worst Fucking Nightmare.

(A/N: This chapter is gonna be quite descriptive and less talking cos I wanted to try my hand at more descriptive writing, and besides; it'll really make a difference with this chapter and it's very much needed - I noticed a lot of my other chapters rely heavily on speech so I thought I'd try something a bit different so let me know which you prefer! Also, there's a bit of time jumping, I don't wanna write the book going day by day because 1. it's a bit difficult and most of all 2. y'all are gonna get bored/it's gonna be way too dramatic to all happen over the space of like 2 weeks lmao. ANYWAY, without further ado x)

-

Over the past month, Tom had hired more security than he'd ever had before after that dreadful night, which meant a LOT more security, so much you'd think a royal was staying in his home. He took every single precaution he needed to keep his princess safe, and then some, which meant Y/N could at least go out on the balcony and into the garden again, which she was pleased about, as long as she was flanked by at least two men, which he knew she was not so pleased about.

Tom had never been that scared in his life, and Tom had been scared so few times he wasn't even entirely sure what it felt like. If he was scared when he lost Aria, then he was terrified when the same was happening to Y/N. His feelings for the resting woman beside him were something deeper and fuller than his love for Aria, even if he did still miss her dearly.

Looking upon her sleeping form, Tom's mind was swimming in thoughts, almost drowning. The deep, angry, crimson gash that had once ran across her face was now healing - cascading down over her eye with raised pink flesh. It was still sensitive though, as they had learnt when Tom had got a bit too handsy one night and grabbed her face in the wrong place, causing her to throw herself backwards in pain - subsequently banging her head on the headboard and killing the mood entirely, which ended up with Tom fussing over her with an icepack for the next few hours.

Tom's eyes trailed down over her face, across her body cloaked by the black silk sheets; and with them being so thin, he could see every single curve and crevice in her form, as she lay curled up beside him. His eyes trailed down to her leg, that was wrapped around the outside of the sheet, trained on the still-stitched wound on her thigh.

He cringed, upset with himself that he didn't find her sooner. Upset that she was still dealing with pain whilst walking, and was now for the most part hobbling around on crutches. Upset that she was in pain at all. Tom wondered if she blamed him, even though she had told him multiple times that she didn't, that she knew what she was walking into when she first spoke to him - but Tom still couldn't help but think she had some amount of blame buried deep inside somewhere. It happened because she loved him, after all.

Tom could feel anger brewing inside his chest, knowing that Milani was out there - somewhere. Tom had foolishly let him escape, and he was beyond furious at himself for it. He couldn't rest until Milani was dead, Y/N would never be safe until he was dead. Tom knew Y/N didn't appreciate the running around murdering, but she understood that it was just part of the life that Tom lived - so she avoided thinking about it, but Tom knew that it was something he had to do, whether Y/N wanted him to or not.

-

Tom had spent most of his time over the past month out of the house, leaving Y/N in the care of Jacob; who she surprisingly got on very well with despite their very different personalities - whilst he, Harrison and the twins travelled around the city, scoping out safe houses and mob members in attempts to find the loathsome devil that was Milani.

As much as Y/N understood that he was trying to keep her safe, she missed him. Tom spent so much time out of the house that she only saw him when he crawled into bed beside her in the early hours of the morning, and he was gone a few hours later when she woke up.

She missed him incredibly, simple as that. She'd spent so much time with him before this that it now felt like part of her was missing until they spent a few hours next to each other in the dead of night.

Tom didn't tell her much about what he did while he was out on the hunt for Dante, and to him that was totally fine because he was trying his hardest to keep her safe and not cause more trauma for her, but Y/N was becoming increasingly frustrated at the fact she was being kept out of it after telling him she wanted to become a part of this life and stand by his side - though she didn't tell him that, he was stressed enough already and didn't need the weight of this on top of it.

Tension was bubbling between the two of them slowly, and the couple had both noticed the light hostility in each other - yet neither said a word, both thinking it wasn't worth the hassle of upsetting the other, neither of them expecting it to come to a head and explode until the one night that Tom took a break for the weekend.

-

"So, how has your week gone? Find anything?" Y/N grumbled, taking a small sip of her tea and pushing her leg underneath her as they sat beside each other on the bed. "No." Tom answered. Short and sweet. And he's being an asshole about it, Y/N thought. "Are you gonna tell me anything more than that?" Y/N pushed, urging him to let her into the situation - but Tom turned to face her, looking her dead in the eyes with a harsh, irritated stare before saying "No, Y/N."

She huffed, turning away from him to get off the bed, putting down the mug with a bang and grabbing the pack of cigarettes from the bedside table, heading out onto the balcony - slamming the door behind her. Tom sighed harshly, knowing he'd pissed her off, and he was in two minds about whether or not he should follow her.

He glanced up at her through the window, taking in the harsh frown etched into her forehead as she took a long drag, and even the clench of her jaw as she blew the smoke out. Tom rubbed his hands across his face in annoyance, he wanted to keep her out of it because she'd only just stopped waking up in the middle of the night screaming for Dante to stop, or whimpering and sobbing for Tom, and it broke his heart.

He knew she was getting angry that she had no idea what was going on, and he knew she was upset that she rarely saw him anymore - but he was doing this for her, and it wouldn't last forever. Tom hoped she understood that, biting the bullet as he got up and followed her out onto the balcony a minute later.

"Darling, I just want to protect you, keep you safe. I'm not keeping you out of it because I don't want you to know, you know that right?" She glanced up at him with cold eyes, evidently still angry. He sighed before continuing "You've only just stopped having nightmares, I don't want anything to trigger them into starting again, and I know you're uncomfortable with the darker side of the job and that you don't want to hear about that." He crouched down to her level in front of her, putting a hand on the chairs arm to stable himself, his fingers brushing against her forearm.

"I know you can handle it any other time, but what happened was incredibly traumatic for you, and you came out with literal battle scars (A/N: BADDLE SCHARZ.) that you'll probably have for the rest of your life. I don't want to add more trauma to the storm that's raging in your head, because I love you. You understand that, right?" The last part came out as a whisper, as Tom placed his had on top of hers, watching her visibly relax whether she wanted to or not.

Y/N looked down at him, eyes narrowing, wondering whether he genuinely wasn't including her because he was worried, or whether he didn't want her to know how brutal he really was. Sure, she'd watched Tom shoot a man point blank in the forehead the day after she'd met him, but as she thought back to how harshly she'd once learnt that the worst mobs torture their victims, she wondered if that's what he didn't want her to see.

"Is it because you like to cut peoples fingers off knuckle by knuckle?" She quipped, raising her eyebrow with a hint of amusement in her tone, but more out of spite than genuine humour. He smirked up at her, his eyes darkening. Did that...just turn him on?

"Darling, there's much worse things that I can do, you have no idea." He was closer to her now, standing whilst he spoke and was now towering over her, looking straight down at her. Y/N swallowed thickly, wondering if she wanted to play this game with him. "But my love, what if I wanted to watch? You've kept me out of your fun for too long."

Something rumbled in Tom's chest as his hand snapped to her neck, squeezing lightly as he dipped to kiss her roughly, and she gasped into his mouth at the sudden movement - but mostly at the pressure on the sides of her neck; noticing as the time went by, Tom dug up things that she never knew could make her feel this way.

Tom always switched so quickly, and Y/N's mind drifted back to the night of the gala, this was the same kind of Tom. She pushed herself up from the chair, Tom wrapping his spare arm around her back as he pulled her into him - sliding down to her arse and picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he spun on his heel and carried her back inside, throwing her onto the bed. Clothes were discarded within seconds and they both pulled away to drink each other in - being entirely enamoured with the other.

-

Tom was breathing shakily, his face unreadable, and there was a zap of fear in Y/N, wondering what he was capable of in this mood if the previous conversation was what spurred it, but before she could think much about it Tom grabbed her wrists and held them above her head, using his knee to push her legs apart - moving in close enough for his nose to touch hers, and saying "Be a good girl and keep your arms up there for me." and she obliged, captivated by the dark pools of his eyes, before he kissed his way down, gliding over her chest, and down her stomach until his head was between her legs.

Y/N's eyes rolled back in her head, feeling his hot breath fan her thighs, and pure pleasure exploded as his tongue grazed over her, rough and quick, almost like he couldn't wait, couldn't get enough of her, lapping her up in all his glory.

And Tom couldn't, he could never get enough of her, every time he saw her naked he couldn't help but want to devour her until she was left sweating and shaking beneath him. He didn't care for his own pleasure, he just wanted to see hers, and he did - as Y/N whimpered above him, and he watched her crash into ecstacy as she became undone.

-

It had been a few hours, and the pair lay beside each other, tracing patterns across each others skin in silence. There was just something about Tom that Y/N couldn't place, he was terrifying at the worst of times, but perfect at the best.

"I want to come with you." She blurted, before she even knew what was going to come out of her mouth. Tom looked taken aback, and raised an eyebrow for her to continue. "The next time you go out for someone, I want to come with you."

He blinked at her as words he never expected her to say came tumbling out of her mouth, and the tips of his ears became hot as he stared at the woman in front of him. His girl. His beautiful, perfect, fearless princess. She'd changed so much since they'd met, Harrison had previously mentioned that she was becoming a mini Tom. Tom wasn't sure whether he liked that or not.

"Okay." He swallowed, licking his lips - sticking his tongue in his cheek. "Alright, you can come, but you have to promise to let me know if it gets too much, and Harrison can take you out to the car, okay?"

Y/N chuckled, and Tom noticed it was in disbelief. "I'll be fine, my love. Promise." And she grinned before placing a light kiss on his forehead.

-

The next day, Tom was going out again, and he was concerned if Y/N should be coming or not, but whilst he watched her strap on the holster around her thigh, he noticed that in that moment - he didn't give a fuck. She looked incredible, adorned in all black. A tight pair of combat cargos covered her toned legs, and a long sleeved thermal paired with a tactical vest covered her upper half - and her very own pair of combat boots to match his, her dainty, slender hands covered with tight fingerless gloves - brass knuckles embedded into them.

He was so incredibly in love with her, he was wrapped around her little finger and would be forever. He smiled at her, she was entirely oblivious to his staring as she tightened her straps and double checked her laces, tucking the loops into the inside of the boot, before turning around to catch him. She grinned at him, and he grinned back. They were matching, and Y/N couldn't help but feel her heart swell.

Tom looked beautiful, as he always did, but dressed in his combat gear he was an intimidating kind of beautiful. He looked powerful, like he could snap her neck with just his stare, and she blushed, looking at the long sleeved t-shirt that hugged him in all the right places, and the same pair of tight legged combat cargos that curved over his arse and his calves perfectly.

-

Arriving at the docks, Y/N stepped out of Tom's car to take in her surroundings. It was quiet, and she wondered if you could carry almost anything out here and nobody would ever know. Trailing behind Tom, hot on his heels, they entered through the side door of a warehouse, descending down the steps to the floor below - and Y/N noticed the man bound to the chair in the centre, his fingers scraping against the wooden arms - pulling at the ropes on his wrists.

She stood behind him, his back to her, as Tom circled round to his front, he'd started intimidating the man already, his voice cold and harsh - like it wasn't Tom speaking at all, but Y/N didn't take in his words as she stared at the small table beside him topped with a duffle bag. She glanced up at Tom, and he caught her eye, smirking at her and passing a quick wink, before backhanding the man in front of him.

The man snarled, and Tom slapped a hand over his airways, before leaning close into him and spitting "Watch it, Derek. You're at a loss right now, so I'd tread lightly." Taking his hand away from Derek's mouth before circling over to the duffle bag, and before he could even reach inside it, Y/N found herself moving forward, and Tom's eyes widened at her curiously, his head tilting slightly to the side.

"My love, how about you do the talking, and I'll do the rest?" Tom's eyes darkened as he looked over her, glancing over at Harrison who looked incredibly shocked - as did the twins, but he rose his hands and stepped away from the bag, watching as she pulled out an aluminium bat, spinning it around her fingers and holding it up in front of her, as if she was inspecting it, and Tom raised his eyebrow at her - the signature ghost of a smirk on his face, as she glided over to rest beside Derek.

Y/N's head was cloudy, filled with pure adrenaline, not even listening to what Tom was asking Derek, but waiting for him to look at her and give her the signal to strike - she wanted to prove that she could do this, that she could live this life and she was more than happy to become a part of it, and after this thought, she caught his eye, and he grinned at her, nodding lightly.

Y/N brought her other hand to wrap around the base of the bat, before raising it above her head and swinging it down in full speed against Derek's right knee causing him to let out a blood curdling scream, and it was then that Y/N realised that she was laughing.

Tom's eyes widened at her again, as he realised that instead of being uncomfortable, she was ENJOYING it - and he wondered if she'd turned a bit manic, but he continued trying to mask his surprise, circling Derek, trailing his hand across Y/N's lower back every time he passed her.

"Your little bitch is tougher than she looks, Holland. After this is all over, I think I might take her for myself." Derek seethed with a sickening grin, and Tom's face faltered, staring harshly down at him, as his mouth opened to cuss him out - a flash of the bat swung down into Derek's chest, making a deafening CRACK as it broke his sternum.

Harrison let out an "Ohhhh!" from behind them, clapping, and Y/N turned to face him with a grin on her face. Tom had never felt so in love in his life, as he watched her circle around Derek, before leaning down to hover beside his face, breath fanning against his ear. "This BITCH" she spat "has a name, and she's your worst fucking nightmare, sweetheart."

Y/N rose, straightening up, before stepping backwards to reach into the duffle bag again - leaning the bat against the table, and taking out a machete from the depths. Tom's breath caught in his throat, and he wondered if he should stop her, if it had gone too far, but he looked over at Harrison who gave him a look of "Let her." lowering his eyes to watch her again.

Y/N once again twirled the weapon between her fingers, before holding it up to let it shine in the light above her, and Tom heard Derek swallow thickly. He was scared of her, and a smirk grew on Tom's face as he watched the scene unfold in front of him, watching her darkest desires leak out before them.

Before anyone could say anything, Y/N brought the machete down onto Derek's hand letting off a swift gust of air at the sheer speed, and the twins stifled a gasp as his bones crunched and his fingers rolled off the arm of the chair and fell to the floor. Tom couldn't hide his shock now, and his mouth hung open, staring at the woman who was once his princess, realising that now - she was his queen. His missing puzzle piece. Harrison was right, she had become a mini him, and now there wasn't an ounce of doubt in his mind - he was loving every second of it.

Derek screeched, pulling against the restraints with the last of his strength trying to get away from her as he watched the blood spurt out of what once was his hand, now a stump with one lone thumb, and looked up in horror as Y/N let out a cackle with a blood splattered face - throwing her head back. "Haven't got such a nasty mouth now, have you?" she cooed, her eyes wide with delirium - maybe even twitching slightly, and Tom had never felt an adrenaline rush so strong in his life as he watched Derek pass out in front of him.

"Harrison, patch him up so he doesn't bleed out and get the lads to watch him, we're not done with him - but I think he's had enough for today." Striding towards Y/N, gripping her hips and kissing her deeply. She pulled away from him, a grin on her face as she whispered "I told you I wanted to fight by your side, and I meant it." He let out a scoff in shock, staring down at her, she was everything he wanted, and she was fucking beautiful - and as they walked out of the warehouse together hand in hand, Harrison and the twins trailing behind them, he knew at that moment that this was the woman he wanted to marry.

-

Word Count: 3560.

A/N: SURPRIIIIIISE MANIC Y/N IS HERE AND SHE'S A BAD BITCH.

I had the idea for this chapter a few days ago and I was SO excited to finally sit down and write it, but it's taken me so long today because I kept getting distracted by my music and having a mini concert in my chair lmao, so my fbi agent watching me through my webcam had a great show.

Anyway, I'm gonna take a short break and then get started on the next chapter, hopefully I'll get it up tonight - but it may be tomorrow, not exactly like I have anything to do but y'know lol.

And as always, thank you so much for reading!

All my love,

Red x


	14. She Will Be Loved.

A/N: Hi! Sorry this upload was a hella late, it was another case of not having the drive to write and I didn't want to write purely for the sake of it and it end up being awful. So here we go! Another short time jump, but not that far as the book started at the beginning of autumn already. Also for a side note: I'm totally winging this chapter and have absolutely no plans for it, it's kinda a filler but it's also not? Depends if this entire vague idea I have needs to be split into a few parts or not, cos if so this will be a 'filler' (But it'll still be really sweet so please don't skip it! There's a lot of fluff!) and the next chapter won't be lmao. This chapter at the very least will get out tonight, I'm gonna start writing the next one straight after and that could be out tonight or some time this next week. (As it's Saturday rn.) I don't want to ruin it with bad writing! Anyways, enjoy!

-

Y/N's hands were starting to cramp around the clutch of her finds, and Tom looked upon her - chuckling at the pure state of happiness she was speeding around the shop in. Halloween was upon them, and Tom quickly learnt that Halloween was infact her favourite time of year, even over Christmas - and even her own birthday. It didn't necessarily surprise Tom, Y/N seemed to not care much for things that incited togetherness as a family, but he thought best not to question it just yet - he knew it ran deeper than it appeared, though he was yearning to change that; with Christmas being his favourite.

Snapping him out of his thoughts, she appeared in front of him, dumping the decorations from her arms full state into the trolley he was leaning on, giving him a broad smile. Anyone could tell that this brought out her inner child, and Tom loved that, he loved that something so minuscule as some decorations (even though there were MANY decorations) could make her so incredibly happy, he hadn't seen her smile like this at something other than him in a while now.

"So, tell me again what exactly you plan on doing with these ones? They look more Christmassy than Halloween to me, darling." Tom questioned, pointing a slender finger at the glass baubles and bat fairy lights that lay at the front of the cart.

"Halloween tree!" Y/N squeaked, eyes wide with excitement, and Tom raised an eyebrow in confusion. "A Halloween tree? That's a thing?" Y/N beamed at him once more. "I've always done it, well, ever since my mum noticed how much I loved Halloween and didn't care much for Christmas, so we'd decorate a tree coming up to Halloween instead cos we both hate how tacky Christmas decorations are anyway, and that bloody tinsel gets everywhere, no tree in my house at Christmas. It'll be fun!" She promised, eyes trained on Tom's very wary and confused expression. 

"You're a strange one, you know that?" He chuckled, bringing an arm around her shoulders and placing a soft kiss to the crown of her head. She smelt like sweets today, but the sour kind, almost like Tangfastics, and Tom wondered if she'd used the new shower stuff he'd bought her, was this what it smelt like?

"I'm your strange one though - so jokes on you Mr. Holland, cos you're stuck with me." Y/N twisted to come chest to chest with him, wrapping her arms around his waist and smiling up at him. Tom wasn't a very tall man, but Y/N was rather short, meaning she had to crane her neck so far that it almost touched her back. 

"My strange, beautiful woman." He croaked as his eyes turned glassy, and she reached up to hold his face. Y/N meant the world to him, and she knew it. They'd made it through unthinkable things so soon already, and both felt that now nothing could be thrown at them and break them apart. Especially not after Tom had strode in, guns blazing to save her after she'd made the ridiculous mistake of sneaking out.

"Stop it you big sap, c'mon, let's finish up and get back. I hope Harrison and the twins are home cos we're gonna need some help." Wiggling her eyebrows as she snaked past him to grab the cart and speeding off down the aisle towards the checkouts, leaving Tom to plod behind her, hands in his pockets and a grand smile spreading across his face.

-

"Tell me why I agreed to this again?" Harrison whined as he sat cross legged on the living room floor glaring at Tom, who was leaning against the pool table, chuckling at him in sheer amusement. "Because you know I'd make you do it anyway if you refused."

Y/N's eyes twinkled in the dimly lit room as she hunched over across from Harrison, also cross legged, fiddling with the bauble in one hand and a paint pen in the other. Getting bat wings symmetrical was harder than it looked, and a small smile made its way onto Tom's face as he watched her tongue stick out repeatedly as she was concentrating so incredibly hard on her tiny bat drawing. She glanced up at him - a small, playful frown making its way onto her face. "Tom, are you not gonna join in?" She whined, pouting dramatically and patting the space on the floor beside her.

With a long, overly dramatic sigh from Tom, he made his way over to sit beside her before saying "I'm literally not artistic in the slightest, I'm totally gonna ruin anything you give me." to which Y/N replied "Yeah maybe, but it'll be funny cause then we can look back at them in years to come and I'll be like 'Hey Tom, remember when I asked you to draw a spider and you made it look like an ant?' and then we'll laugh for ages until our ribs hurt and then I can show them to people and they can laugh too and-" Tom lightly tapped her on the forehead and she blushed, an unspoken gesture from Tom when she was rambling again.

"Years to come, huh?" He grinned at her, and she blushed deeper, letting out a quiet 'yeah.' as he wrapped an arm around her, squeezing the top of her arm, but the bliss was short lived as Harrison let out a fake gag across from them, and Y/N stuck her tongue out at him before mocking him with "Just because you can't find a girlfriend that'll put up with you following Tom around like a puppy everywhere." and Harrison let out a fake gasp of shock. "I'll have you know that he likes me following him around everywhere." placing a hand over his heart when Tom let out a small "Weeeeell..." causing the group to laugh as Harrison fell backwards and rolled around in a dramatic portrayal of fake pain.

-

The wind passed through Tom's hair, ruffling it into curtains, and the slightly damp air had started to bring out his curls. The pair were sat on the balcony again, after a long day of decorating, both with a glass in hand and sitting in comfortable silence. The night was still, and all that could be heard was the low howl and rustle of the breeze and the distant traffic from the bright lights of the city.

Y/N was evidently exhausted, Tom could tell, but was fighting to stay awake. He watched her as her wine glass lolled from side to side - her wrist going slack as she fought the urge to slumber, and a small smile made its way onto his face.

She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on, there was no doubt of that. He continued to watch as she let out a slow breath, her head tilting back against the head of the chair and her eyes closed. She was a goddess, she was entirely fearless yet insecure all at the same time. He loved the way her hair curled and stuck out when she let it air dry after a bath, like a lions mane, her mother had told her, and she'd told him, and the way it fell past her ribs when she straightened it.

He loved how long and dark her eyelashes were, and how her eyes twinkled when he said something sweet. He loved the scar that ran across her eye from that awful night, though on most people it would look angry and displeasing, it complimented her face, and it made her look even more beautiful. He also loved the way she scrunched her nose up when she didn't like something, but also when she was trying not to smile at something. 

He loved her smile, even the tooth that sat a little further back than the others, the one that she hated. He loved her lips, and how they were always so soft and pink, even when they peeled in cold weather. He loved the splay of freckles that danced across her face, and the way the sun brought them out more. He loved the way that she did her makeup, how dramatic it was though it never made her look silly. She spent hours on it and it always looked perfect, even when she didn't think it did, but he also loved it when she didn't wear makeup - how soft she looked compared to the harsh, alternative look she wore usually. 

He loved her shoulders, how his arm could fit around the both of them with ease, leaving his hand resting just above her elbow, and the crow tattoo that rested on her left shoulder blade. He loved her collarbones, and they way that they didn't stick out too prominently, but they still stuck out noticeably, especially when she dusted them with makeup when she was wearing something low cut. He loved the snake tattoo that started between them, and coiled round between her breasts, the head ending on her sternum, the shade of red that splashed through it was the colour that Tom saw when he thought of her.

He loved the way that she was slightly 'chubby' (as she would say) around the waist, but anything she wore hugged every curve and crevice and she still always looked incredible. He loved her arms, and the pirate themed sleeve that adorned the right one, and her slender hands. She'd told him her mother had called them pianists hands, which is why she took up piano when she was younger, and he loved the clunky rings that decorated her fingers.

She never wore anything sparkly, they were always heavy, and plain - Tom always thought she wore rings you'd rather see on a man than a woman, but he loved that about her. A cobra placed on her right hand ring finger, and 2 simple silver bands on top of each other on her middle, whereas on the left hand, a smaller silver band on her little finger, with a small Claddagh ring above it, and another silver band with black lines on her left ring finger. She'd mentioned her father had given her that when she was little, and she'd never taken it off since. That was all Tom knew about her father, she didn't speak about him much but he knew not to pry and that she'd talk about him when she was ready.

He loved her hips, despite knowing that was one of the parts she hated the most. She hated the hip dips, she'd always been teased about them, but Tom loved them the most; the way his hands rested perfectly in them when he pulled her closer. He loved her thighs, which were bigger than his head, and how she always joked that she could crush a watermelon with them, and her calves were like none other - anyone could tell that she'd spent a lot of time on her feet, and Tom wondered if it was purely from running the pub - the muscles on the back insanely defined like an athletes.

Tom had already decided that Y/N was the woman he wanted to marry, he'd known for a while, longer than she'd known him, but he knew for definite the night at the warehouse. She'd told him that she wanted to be part of his world, fight by his side, but he didn't think she was being deadly serious until that night. The way she took matters into her own hands had surprised him by far, but nevertheless it made him love her tonnes more. 

Zoning back into the real world, Toms eyes focused back in on the woman resting beside him, she'd fallen asleep by now - and the only thing stopping the wine glass from falling to the floor was the chair arm. He softly grasped the top of the glass, setting it down beside his chair, before snaking his arms under Y/N's knees and across her back - lifting her up into his chest and making his way inside towards the bed.

Setting her down, and pulling the silk sheet over her, Tom sat down beside her as she curled up into the sheets, pushing her face into the pillows beneath her head, grunting softly at the new found comfort beyond the wooden balcony chair. Tom smiled softly, tracing a hand over the side of her face, pushing away her unruly hair, before placing a small kiss on her temple - pulling the sheet up around her shoulders and creeping out of the bedroom towards his office.

-

Sitting down in the leather chair behind the grand wooden desk, Tom stared down at his phone. He had 4 missed calls from Nikki, and even more texts asking him to call her. Tom knew she was calling about their annual Halloween party in two days, but after the dinner - Tom was unsure whether it would be wise to turn up to his family home and have to face his father in front of Y/N again. He didn't mind having Y/N around Dom again, now that she knew about Aria, as long as she was comfortable to be around him - but Tom was wary that Dom would try to rile him up again and it would end up being Tom's fault that the night was ruined; and if he didn't want to ruin it before, he absolutely didn't want to ruin it with Halloween being Y/N's favourite night of the year.

Tom took a deep breath, placing his phone on the desk and leaning over to pour himself a hefty glass of bourbon, before hitting the call back button on the screen. After a few rings, Nikki picked up. "Oh Tom, I'm so glad you called back, you haven't picked up my calls in days - I was getting worried, love." She babbled, and Tom let out a soft chuckle. "I'm alright Mum, just had a lot of stuff to do. Sorry I called you back so late, I would've called you in the morning but I knew it would be about the Halloween party, didn't want you worrying and panicking about costumes and such is all." Nikki squealed on the other end, and Tom let out another chuckle - shaking his head.

"Does that mean you're coming then?! Oh please tell me you're both coming darling, I've got such fun costumes planned for us all and it'll really pull it all together if you come." Tom knew he couldn't let his mum down after hearing how excited she was. "I'll have to check in with Y/N in the morning, I'm sure she'll say yes no matter what costumes you have planned for us, but it's just polite to ask, right?" Nikki let out a sigh of relief on the other end, and Tom chuckled for the third time in the last 10 minutes. 

"Oh, that's wonderful! I do hope she says yes, I'll have Harrison pick up your costumes and bring them back with him tomorrow; and don't you worry about makeup or anything - I've got all that sorted too." Tom laughed again, he knew she'd already have everything sorted before she knew whether they were coming or not. That was just like Nikki.

After saying their goodbyes, Tom placed his phone back in his pocket before heading back to his bedroom. Y/N was still curled up just where he left her, and his heart swelled as he climbed into bed beside her - wrapping an arm around her small frame and breathing in her scent before his eyes fell shut and he drifted off to sleep.

-

Word Count: 2790

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! Like I said at the top, this was just kind of a 'filler' chapter in preparation for the next chapter or two. As always:

All my love,

Red x


	15. No Fighting.

(A/N: Sorry if these paragraphs seem shorter than others, I had my window on half screen whilst I watched HyperRPG's 10 Candles series lol, but the actual chapter is SUPER long compared to my others and it's only part one of two so BUCKLE UP KIDS.)

-

On Halloween night, Tom's home was bustling with people- and it wasn't even where the party was being held. Amongst not only the members of his mob, including Harrison and the twins, were handfuls upon handfuls of makeup artists and costume designers, every one of them rushing around with some kind of carry case or garment bag. 

Nikki and Dom's Halloween Bash was always one of the biggest casual events of the year, and mob members from all around the world came to attend. The Holland family were highly respected by the majority, and a few lucky families always came out with an award winning deal with the Holland mob.

No two costumes were ever the same, as months of meticulous planning went into the event, and in turn - Nikki went through months worth of bottles of wine handling it all by herself (with the exception of Paddy, of course.) Dom wasn't the planning type, as Nikki had figured out when she was welcomed into the Holland family and had to plan their wedding without him.

Tom was perched on a stool at the breakfast bar, watching everybody else run around in pure havoc. Time was running out quickly, and he still hadn't seen anyone else apart from some other lower members of his mob. He was starting to worry, more than he already was, he was still concerned about seeing Dom again after what happened at dinner - and now he was worried about showing up a bit too late to be called fashionable.

As for Tom's costume, Nikki had picked out the ever-sarcastic space captain Peter Quill, Tom quite liked the thought of being called Star-Lord and he wondered if in an alternate universe that's who he'd be. Costume complete with gun holster and gun, and signature mask hung on one side of his belt - and of course the iconic cassette player, hung on the other side of his belt, Tom felt beyond cool right now. 

Nikki hadn't told him about any other costumes, including Harrison, the twins, and even Y/N. He was curious to see what they all appeared in, and most of all if him and Y/N would match. He had no doubt they would, because Nikki was incredibly thorough like that, but Tom couldn't help but sit and get lost in his thoughts about it.

Harrison was the first to appear, and Tom let out a hearty laugh as his trench coat drifted across the steps as he descended. "Ohh, Bleecker Street Magician, huh?" Tom chuckled, his eyes wrinkling in amusement. "It's Doctor Strange to you, Quill." Harrison quipped, raising an eyebrow in fake disdain.

Harrison looked incredible too, there was no doubt that Nikki had spent a fortune getting all of these costumes hand made for each person. From the trench coat that fit him perfectly to the pendant holding the glowing Time Stone on his chest - Tom wondered if Nikki had jumped into the Marvel Universe and stolen the actual Time Stone herself, with the way it was pulsating in its glow. It looked way too real to just be a little light inside the pendant.

"Your mum is incredible with this stuff man, she amazes me more every single year. How the fuck does she manage it?" Harrison scoffed, giving Tom a twirl, watching him shrug, before hopping onto the stool beside him, being careful not to sit on his coat - and it was at this point that Tom realised the makeup artists had given Harrison a little fake beard (with Harrison being unable to grow a proper one himself); making Tom laugh harder.

Next to appear was the twins, because of course they were. Of course he had to wait till last to see Y/N, but when Tom and Harrisons eyes honed in on their costumes, they let out a cackle, leaning into each other in pure hilarity.

Not only had Nikki chosen for the twins to dress as Rocket and Groot, encapsulating their chaos and mischief, but she had gone entirely full out, with Harry in a full suit of grey fur and a racoon head, and Sam dressed head to toe in some kind of wood bodysuit, with a replica Arcade Defender in hand - teenage Groot. The detail was incredible, Nikki had really gone all out this year, though Tom was glad it was the twins in those costumes and not him - he couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to drink in either costume.

Being so wound up in the twins and how fitting their costumes were, with Harrison joking that their mother knew them too well, Tom didn't notice that Y/N was at the bottom of the stairs, smiling at the scene in front of her, until she let out a small laugh. Tom's head has never whipped round so fast and he absolutely did not regret it.

In true knowing fashion, Nikki had dressed Y/N up as the one and only Gamora - and Tom couldn't keep the grin off his face as he realised how much it suited her. Gamora, the immensely strong and brave warrior, the warrior that didn't need a man to lead her, a talented and strategic assassin - one that was incredibly hard to break the walls of, hard to know and learn about.

Y/N was glad for the body paint she was coated head to toe in when she blushed immensely at the way the boys looked upon her, stepping back a little, her replica Godslayer clinking when it hit the bannister (she didn't dare tell Tom about the note Nikki had left her, telling her it was a real blade.) Quickly grabbing it and holding it against her thigh to silence it, her shoulders tightened in a show of awkwardness, her freshly dip dyed hair smoothing out around her arms.

"I know I'm quite literally bright green but you don't have to stare at me like that." She breathed, and Tom finally gained control of his legs to move forward and wrap his arms around her. "You look incredible, literally other-worldly." She slapped his arm at the cheesy joke and Tom yelped, chuckling and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Who do you reckon Mum and Dad will be dressing as if we're all part of the Marvel Universe?" Sam queried, sipping at a can of beer, being careful not to catch the prosthetics on his face. "Not sure really, could be Cap and Peggy, could be Nat and Clint?" Harrison answered, looking lightly in thought. 

"What about Paddy? There's not many people left for him to be." Y/N quipped, not wanting to think about the fact she may bump into Dom further than a greeting tonight. "Uh, hello? Spiderman? The coolest Avenger of them all?" Tom joked, playing out a look of offence at the forget for the youngest Avenger.

"You might be right you know, love. I can see Paddy as a wee Spiderman." Y/N chuckled, feathering a hand over Tom's perfectly placed hair. "You look amazing, by the way. Nikki really does know what she's doing with these costume choices." There was a light blush across Toms face as he smiled back at her, wrapping an arm around her waist before turning to face the tens of men stood in his foyer. 

-

"Right, lads. Best behaviour tonight. You know that. I shouldn't have to say it anyway, but I absolutely shouldn't have to tell you that when we're heading to my parents event. Especially the biggest event of the year." Y/N watched Tom as he spoke to his men, his usual soft demeanour around her ceased, and he was suddenly a businessman again. She liked that about him though, no matter how soft she made him whilst he was around - he never projected that back out onto his job.

"You all have your weapon of choice, and I trust that you only chose one like I asked, isn't that right Davidson?" Tom quipped, raising an eyebrow at a broad-shouldered man with a buzzcut leaning against the sofa who bowed his head in embarrassment, causing the other men to whoop and howl, laughing at him. Y/N realised that at one point, giggling to herself quietly, the man had evidently got too greedy with the amount of things he brought with him.

"I don't want any of you getting under peoples skin and I don't want any...mysterious accidents, like a few years ago with the Reles family and the 2nd floor balcony." Tom's face hardened, the room went quiet, and Y/N felt like she could hear her heartbeat, as if her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Had Toms men murdered someone at a past Halloween party?

"Nevertheless, you get my point. No fighting, no drama, no 'accidents' and no fighting." Pointing a finger, gliding across his men, Tom shoved his hand back into his pocket before nodding, and everyone raised and headed towards the front door and into their respective cars.

-

Arriving, Y/N quickly realised as they pulled round the gravel path that the Holland's had rented one of the most expensive venues in London, The Imperial War Museum - and after passing through the doors, gawping at the masses of decorations on the outside, she realised that the inside had been decked out in decorations too, and extravagant couldn't even be used to describe it.

She knew that to rent out the building for a few hours it was in the early tens of thousands of pounds, so to rent it for the whole night must have cost the Holland's over £30,000 - let alone the staff, the food, the drinks and so on.

She was quickly pulled out of her bewilderment by Tom's hand grasping hers, causing her to jump slightly. She glanced to her right and smiled at him weakly, he could tell she was nervous after the last time she'd been around his parents, and though Tom wasn't exactly nervous - he was at least wary.

Stood facing the doorway to the main room were Dom and Nikki, and immediately Y/N almost let out a squeal as she took in their costumes. They had come as none other than the iconic Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, the ultimate power couple, and who else could have suited them more?

Approaching them, Tom pulled his jacket tighter around him, straightening up and his face hardening. He gave a curt nod to Dom, before turning to Nikki and welcoming her as she flew into his arms. "Oh, look at you two! I knew it would be perfect. I'd just knew you'd look incredible together!" She gushed, quickly turning to Y/N and bringing her into a tight hug too.

"Nikki." Y/N breathed. "You both look incredible. I can't believe we didn't even think about you two coming as Stark and Pepper. I think we thought of every other single Marvel couple before we thought of them." Blushing, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, keeping her free hand on Nikki's forearm.

Nikki gave her a warm smile, lifting a hand and placing it on Y/N's face, careful not to press down too hard on the bodypaint. "Oh never mind us, look at you! I knew this would suit you perfectly, I was really hoping it would fit right, I didn't want to badger Tom for your measurements you know? He's always so busy and he hates coming to these things." The last part being more of a whisper than the rest of the sentence.

Y/N let out a scoff, shaking her head a little. "Oh, I know he does, he was so serious when he was talking to everyone earlier I thought his head was going to explode." Nikki chuckled, taking Y/N's hand in hers and leading her towards the bar. "I'll keep her safe, Tom. Don't you worry. The ladies need a large beverage." Finishing the last of the sentence with a wink, she dragged Y/N away.

Tom watched the green of her skin melt into the crowd until she was out of sight, before turning to Dom, bearing in mind that Harrison and the twins were still behind him and hoping that Dom wouldn't be too much of an asshole.

"She's still with you, huh?" Dom asked, stoic, looking off into the crowd. Tom's mouth hung open slightly, a faint look of disgust on his face, turning to his father. "Yes. Of course she is. Why wouldn't she be? Can't you just not be an asshole for one night?" 

Taking off into the crowd before letting Dom even reply, Tom decided to search for Paddy - and it didn't take him long before the younger boy jumped in front of him, clad in a skintight Spiderman suit and mask, just as Tom had suspected, making him chuckle before placing a hand over the top of his head and shaking it a little.

"Hey dude, you alright?" Tom beamed at his little brother as he pulled his mask off and looked up at Tom. "Yeah, just been jumping out at people to scare them cus it's funny." Tom laughed, shaking his head before asking "You seen Y/N or Mum?" Paddy nodded, pointing off to his right, and Tom patted him on the shoulder before brushing past him and heading in that direction.

-

Y/N felt miles more relaxed when she was alone with Nikki, and Nikki felt like she was spending time with the daughter she never had. Bonding over their favourite cocktails and girly conversation, this was probably the most relaxed Y/N had felt without Tom in a long while.

Her gaze drifted across to the dance floor, and Nikki's followed - turning back to cast a sly grin at Y/N; an idea popping into her head. "You wanna go dance? Or will it be too embarrassing to dance with me?" She grinned, and Y/N almost choked on her drink. "Too embarrassing to dance with the woman who was once the queen of the UK's mob? Are you joking?" Nikki squealed, taking the empty glass from her and placing it on the bar before grabbing her hand as she pulled her through the crowd.

As the current song ended, Y/N could only feel like she was at her school disco again as she recognised the next song was nothing but We Like To Party! by Vengaboys, and Nikki looked equally excited - though that may have been because of the large dose of alcohol in both their systems.

Both of them hopping around each other, shouting "We like to party!" as the song built up, Y/N felt like she was back in the club on the weekend with her university friends, and not in the middle of one of the biggest mob events of the year - and it wasn't long before she noticed the conga line making its way around the dance floor, grabbing Nikki's hand and dragging her over to join the back.

It was actually quite amusing, Y/N thought to herself, to see all these hardened mob families coming together to jump in a conga line around the venue - weaving their way through tables in a line of laughter and shouting. Harrison caught sight of her on their way past, already quite drunk himself - letting out a whoop before sliding himself in front of Y/N to join the conga line, and she squeezed his biceps and cheered, Nikki joining with her.

"Didn't take you for a dancer, Osterfield!" She shouted over the music, Harrison turned his head to laugh, replying "Sweetheart, you ain't seen nothing yet, the night's only just begun!" His arms flying up as Paddy ran in front of him, followed by Sam and Harry - causing everyone to stumble a little and pause as the line got a little longer.

-

Tom had eventually made his way to the bar on the opposite side of the room - pushing his way through the masses of people and being stopped a billion times on the way, but Y/N and his mum were nowhere to be seen, though it didn't take him too long to spot them as he twisted round to see not only the pair - but his best friend and his brothers laughing and shouting as they snaked round in the conga line. He leant back against the bar, letting out a cackle at the heartwarming but hilarious sight, briefly asking the bartender to pour him a glass of bourbon.

She always looked so beautiful no matter what she was doing - even in her drunken stupor, no matter how uncoordinated her feet were right now, she still managed to keep up with everyone; turning back every now and again to check on Nikki, and as the song ended and another started - he watched her squeal as she grabbed both Nikki and Harrison's wrists and pulled them back onto the dance floor.

The Cha Cha Slide didn't seem like Y/N's piece of cake, but much to Tom's surprise she seemed to be right in her element; and he placed his glass down on the bar, jogging over to join her by her side. She beamed at him, stomping her left foot in time with the music and shouted "I wondered where you'd gotten to!" and he beamed back at her. "I came to find you, but you'd already disappeared by the time I'd got to the bar, you're really fitting in with the sneaky assassin aesthetic." She laughed, slapping his bicep as she turned to 'cha cha real smooth.'

After an hour or so on the dance floor, Tom retired himself to a table in the corner of the room to cool down, leaving the girls to dance the night away, passing the bar on his way. The party was going amazingly, and Tom was pushing the uneasiness to the back of his mind. It almost seemed to be going too well, and he felt like it was some kind of bad omen. Dom had stayed clear of him since they spoke at the door, which was absolutely unlike him, and Tom couldn't help but feel he was going to spring out of the crowd to try and batter him.

-

"Hey, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom alright? I think I'm about to break the seal." Y/N shouted, Harrison nodded and responded "Alright, be quick though!" She nodded and meandered her way through the crowd, having to stop on the way to ask a staff member where she should actually be going - and they pointed to the staircase on one side of the room. "Just head up there and to your left, it's signed from there!" She smiled, Y/N thanked her and took into a speedwalk, worried she might wet herself during the long way to the bathroom - this might even be worse than the hike to a Wetherspoons bathroom.

Busting through the door to the womens, Y/N quickly went to relieve herself before finishing up and making her way to the sink, washing her hands and shaking them dry (being sure to reapply the body paint and powder from the pouch on her belt) before leaning on the countertop. It was at this point she realised how drunk she actually was, as she swayed forwards towards the mirror laughing at her own reflection and letting out a relieved but happy sigh.

Suddenly, the door bust open causing her to jump. "What the FUCK?" She yelped, though she settled a little when she saw the Star-Lord mask in front of her. "Jesus Tom, you're such an asshole. I absolutely shat myself for a second there." Letting out a breathy laugh as her heart rate slowed down, she looked up at him again. He didn't reply.

"Uh, hello? Earth to Tom? Music made you deaf or something?" Waving a hand in front of his face, chuckling a little - but it was short lived as his hand snapped up and grabbed her wrist, causing her to gasp. "I don't know what you're playing at, being all mysterious and quiet, but if you're trying to be sexy - we are not about to fuck in a bathroom, Holland." Trying to diffuse the odd situation with humour, Y/N could feel her heart battering against her ribcage. It was getting a little concerning now.

"Wrong name, sweetheart." A voice came from behind the mask, and Y/N's heart plummeted to her feet as she realised that the man in front of her was indeed, not Tom.

-

Harrison was getting antsy, Y/N had left for the bathroom almost 20 minutes ago now, and he knew that women took a while in the bathroom but he thought she would've been back by now. "Hey, I'm gonna go find Tom alright? See if Y/N is with him. She's been gone for a little while now." He shouted into Sam's ear before making his way over to the corner - panic raised in him as he noticed Tom leaning back in the chair, face turned to the ceiling whilst he swirled the glass in his hand, but there was no sign of Y/N.

"Hey, have you seen Y/N in the past like, 20 minutes?" Harrison shouted down to him, causing Tom's head to snap towards him. "What? I thought she was with you?" Tom felt his chest heat up, worry dripped into his lungs. "She was, but she went to the bathroom and obviously I'm not gonna go with her, but she hasn't come back yet so I thought she might've come and sat with you."

Alarm bells went off in Tom's mind, and he was sent into full panic mode. "Where are the toilets?" He snapped, watching Harrison point towards the glass staircase on the opposite side of the room - not even being able to get a word out before Tom took off towards them in a sprint. Harrison knew he'd lowkey fucked up, and ran off to find the twins and Nikki; warning them that something might be wrong, and to round up the lads for high alert.

-

Tom had never ran this fast in his life, and the panic blocked out all the sound around him as he bounded across the venue, weaving through the rows of tables to reach the stairs - taking them 2 at a time. Millions of scenarios were running through his head right now, he almost couldn't breathe. 

He caught a woman at the top of the stairs in a waiter uniform, almost flying right into her before shouting "The womens bathroom, where's the womens bathroom?!" and she faltered for a moment, obviously shocked at his sudden appearance and demand. "Down there, to the right." She gasped, and Tom shouted a quick thank you as he took off down the hall, throwing a glance over his shoulder where he saw the woman with her hand in her pocket, the other on her hip, just watching him. 

-

"Shit." Y/N gasped, shakily walking backwards until her back was against the wall, it took her less than a few seconds to recognise the voice that seeped with evil. "Milani." She breathed, and he chuckled before a hand rose to pull the mask off his head.

"Miss me, little lioness?" Dante grinned at her, his eyes nothing short of blazing with desire, and Y/N knew that it was desire for death. "How the fuck did you get in here? What the fuck are you doing here? You don't belong here. You've walked yourself to your own death." She was surprised how confident the words were that came out of her mouth, albeit they came out shakily, but still with a weight behind them.

He chuckled darkly, and her breath caught in her throat. "Thing is, princess, there's a rat in your ranks. It didn't take me long to find out what your darling Thomas was dressing as, then all I had to do was dress the same and make my way in. With there only being one person per costume, everyone just assumed I was your lover. Just let me walk right on by, no questions asked." His grin widened sickeningly as his fingers made a walking motion past his face.

"What do you want from me, Dante?" Y/N queried, voice still shaky. His plans had already been foiled once, what did he want so much to make him try again? "Oh, little lioness, how naive. I don't want anything from you. I want to end you. To break his heart and break him down so that the rightful family can step up and claim their throne." He growled, and Y/N started to panic, hands finding the wall behind her to try and ground herself.

-

Tom's mind was reeling, every single corridor looked the same. When the woman said the bathroom was to the right, he assumed it would be one of the first doors, but he'd opened every single door that would open; sign or not, and still hadn't found it. There were two doors left down the corridor in front of him before he had to turn around and try the other side. Maybe the woman was so surprised she lost her bearings?

Slamming the first door closed again, Tom ran a hand through his hair. Time was running out, and someone would've told him if Y/N had reappeared downstairs, but they hadn't, and he knew now that something was gravely wrong. Kicking the second door open, he found himself in a small supply room, yelling out in frustration he swung his arm into the shelf beside him, turning to leave before he heard a click behind him.

"Not so fast, Holland." Tom froze, a familiar voice floating through the air behind him as he heard a click. The safety being pulled off a gun. Tom's mind burst into a flurry, whoever was behind him hadn't fired yet, and he wondered why. Slowly turning around, he almost choked when he came face to face with Jacob - a grim look ghosting over his face behind the gun.

"Jacob? What the FUCK?" Tom went to step forward before he saw Jacobs finger move down to the trigger. "Don't you fucking dare." Jacob whispered. He was angry, and Tom had no clue why. "How dare you. After everything we've been through?" Tom felt defeated, betrayed. "After everything we've been through? If we've been through so much then why am I not higher up in your ranks? Why was I put on babysitting duty when you were too stupid to locate Milani? Why was I the one that had to run around finding things when you got sent through that table? Harrison has legs, so do the twins, why did I have to get the first aid kit?" Jacob spat, and Tom almost felt guilty. "You're always sending me to do all the shit jobs, all the boring shit, all the gruelling braincell killing shit. Why am I not on the same level as Harrison if I mean so much to you?"

Tom didn't know what to say. He already had too many right hand men, according to Dom. Adding another would've just give him more to rant about, but it had never crossed Tom's mind that Jacob was angry about it, that he felt left out. "Jacob, dude. I didn't know you felt like that, why didn't you say something?" Jacob snickered in disbelief. "You never asked. Ever. Never asked me anything. You haven't asked me how I am in years. Did you even know I have a daughter?" 

Tom swallowed thickly. He didn't know. He was completely unaware, and it was at this point that he realised he'd isolated Jacob entirely the past couple of years. Before Tom was the boss, him, Jacob and Harrison did everything together. When did that change?

"I'm so sorry man, really, I am." Tom croaked with a thin veil of tears in his eyes, before swiftly pulling out his gun, causing gunshots to ring through the room.

-

Word Count: 4623

A/N: Hi lovelies! Thank you for all the comments and votes on the past chapters! I appreciate it so so much you have no idea, so please keep them coming! Any thoughts, anything that makes you laugh or anything that makes you gasp, I love seeing reactions to what I write. When I started writing this, it was more just to keep me sane in lockdown - but to watch as it gets added to reading lists and more and more comments appear in my notifications, it really warms my heart to see others are enjoying what I'm putting out.

I know it isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but considering I didn't think anyone would ever see this, it means so much to me.

Remember, like I said in the A/N at the start, this is only part one of this event, I'm gonna get started on part two straight away. I'm sorry this came out a few days later than I said it would, I hit around 2000 words and really started to struggle between jumping forwards in the night too fast and dragging it out too much, so I hope I didn't bore you with almost 5k words, and I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter!

As always -

All my love,

Red x


	16. I Can't Lose Him.

That was a gunshot, Y/N thought, maybe more than one. And it sounded nearby. She tried to swallow the bile that was rising in her throat as her gaze turned back to Dante, who seemed equally as startled by the interruption. This was the first time Y/N had ever seen anything other than evil on his face, and it came just as much as a shock to her as it did to him - watching him quickly compose himself.

"You've raised an alarm somehow, haven't you? Are you wearing a fucking wire?" He accused, something sinister flashing across his eyes, and Y/N frantically shook her head, holding up her hands. "I haven't done anything, I swear. I don't have anything. I don't know what that was." As much as she hated the devil stood in front of her, right now was the moment where she had to level with him and get him to trust her. Her life, Tom's, and maybe even the others depended on it.

Milani took a brief scan of her, eyes squinting slightly. Shit. He didn't trust her. "Stupid bitch!" He roared, and in a flash he'd unholstered his gun and swung to pistol-whip her. It was as if Y/N was having an out of body experience, as she watched her arm swing back, grabbing the Godslayer blade from her hip and swinging it out towards him, successfully catching his wrist - causing him to drop the gun.

"Fuck! Fucking shit! Why would you-" He yelped, before spinning halfway to the door. There was a rush of footsteps and shouting, and Milani knew his time was up as he took a brief look outside, turning to face her before saying "Until next time, little lioness." with a wink, and fleeing down the hallway as Sam and Harry burst through the door a few seconds later.

-

It was Harrison that had flanked down the right hallway with a small group of men, whilst he'd directed the twins left. And it was there that they made their way to the end of the hallway and into the small storage room. Harrison could smell the thick scent of blood in the air. It seemed he'd stepped in some too, lifting up his boot so that he could hear the drip onto the tiled floor.

There was a strangled groan followed by a sharp breath in the darkness of the room, and Harrison raised his hand for the team to raise their weapons, slowly stalking forward until his foot hit something. Looking down, and pulling out his phone to use his torch, he found Jacob - although, he guessed it wasn't really Jacob anymore; as Harrison could see the clear bullet wound directly through his forehead.

He lay slumped against a stack of shelves, eyes wide, face stained with tears and hand still lightly gripping his gun by his thigh, and as Harrison moved the torch down, he saw a hole in Jacob's shirt too, though the once white shirt was now drenched in his own blood. Jacob wasn't supposed to be coming tonight, he'd apparently been caught up in other plans and couldn't make it - yet here he was, dressed in a suit, dead in a store room. He'd been shot twice. But by who? And where had that person gone?

Harrison turned to one of the men behind him, whispering to get the 'other' team in here to take care of it, before raising his hand to slowly move forward. A box fell from the other side of the room, and Harrison's heart almost leapt out of his throat. "Hello?" He raised his voice, trying not to sound creeped out.

"Fuck, Haz." A raspy, pained voice came from the other side of the room, and it was then that Harrison flew forwards and round the side of the last set of shelves, throwing himself to the ground beside his best friend - who's light grey t-shirt was now sopping wet with crimson red, his gun clattering to the floor now he knew he was safe.

-

It had taken Sam and Harry a good 10 minutes to coax Y/N out of the bathroom (insisting it was safe multiple times, though they had no idea what had happened) and down the stairs, where Nikki and Paddy were waiting outside the building for them. Nikki threw herself at the small girl, wrapping her arms around her. "Oh god, I expected the worst. We heard gunshots, what happened?"

Y/N looked at her - a quizical expression on her face. "What? They didn't come from me. I thought they came from you guys." Nikki glanced over her shoulder at Sam and Harry, with a grave look, and it was now that Y/N realised that Tom wasn't here. "...Where's Tom?..."

Nikki's eyes flicked back to her, wide and full of panic. "He went to look for you." Y/N felt her heart fall into the depths of the Earth as deep panic set in, starting to piece the situation together. If the gunshots hadn't come from her and Dante, and they hadn't come from the party, the only other place they could have come from was from Tom.

It was at this point, that the bile that she had swallowed down repeatedly earlier said that it had had enough of resting in her stomach - and she quickly spun to the wall beside her, the contents of her stomach emptying out onto the grass below. She felt a hand on the small of her back, it seemed more awkward rather than comforting. "You alright? What happened in there?" It was Harry, the ghost of concern on his face. 

Y/N hadn't spoken to Harry that much, but that was probably because she saw him less than the others - though it didn't stop her from word vomiting at him. She told him right from when she left Harrison on the dance floor. How she'd asked a waitress for directions, and how someone dressed as Star-Lord had bust the door down and scared her half to death. How she thought it was Tom, or more at that point KNEW it was Tom (bearing in mind the one person per costume rule that had been mentioned prior), yet she was quickly proved wrong when she heard him speak.

She told him about what Dante had said to her, how there was a rat in the Holland ranks, and how it was all too easy to get into the party. She told him how the gunshots had startled him, and that he'd assumed she'd caused them somehow - how he'd swung for her but she'd been faster, muscle memory kicking in with a mixture of what Tom had taught her and a rush of adrenaline; quickly enough for her to halt his attack and attack him herself, leaving him with a wound on his arm as he fled.

Y/N felt like she couldn't breathe, and Harry quickly rushed Paddy off to grab a bottle of water from the car, also sending Sam to gather up a few more men and see if Dante was still hanging around or if he'd dropped anything whilst he fled. If anyone had seen him.

Taking a shaky sip from the bottle that Paddy had handed her (after giving him a soft thank you, of course.) Y/N closed her eyes as the cold water soothed the burn in her throat, trying not to think about the fact that Tom could be in danger - or even worse, dead.

-

"Carefully, carefully. We need to get him outside, I'll bring the car around and take him home. Jamie, I need you to call Dr. Livingston - tell him we've got a gunshot wound and let him know VERY clearly that it's Tom Holland that needs him, tell him he's bleeding the fuck out and we need him at the house ASAP. You got that?" Harrison snapped, causing the man to nod vigorously and jog off ahead of the group, holding his phone to his ear, as they carefully hoisted Tom down the staircase and across the venue, and as the doors flew open, Y/N just assumed that it was Sam returning with the others to tell them some kind of news, but her mind nor heart was prepared for what she laid her eyes upon.

All she could see was blood. Blood. It was in his hair, on his face, on his hands - even on his boots. His t-shirt was soaked in it, and by the way he was being carried - she knew it was his own. Or mostly his own, at least. She wanted to cry, to scream, to gasp, but nothing came out. She was frozen. He wasn't moving. She briefly wondered if he was already dead.

"Todd, take my place a minute while I take this coat off to put on the ground for him." Harrison breathed, moving aside as another man took his place, rolling up his trenchcoat into a makeshift pillow as the rest lay Tom down on the ground as carefully as they could, causing him to let out a strangled yelp as his torso bent.

Y/N let out a large breath she wasn't even aware that she'd been holding, watching as it billowed into the air like a huge plume of smoke, and before she knew it she was on her hands and knees beside her lover, hand on his face, hovering over him. His eyes were closed, and if she was paying any less attention, she wouldn't have been able to notice the short, shallow breaths that were leaving his chest.

Y/N suppressed a whimper as she carefully used her fingers to lightly pull the hair away from his face, despite the majority of it being plastered to his skin with blood - she tried not to cringe at how sticky it was.

"Sweetheart..." He croaked, and a sob finally burst out of her mouth. "I thought you were dead." She squeaked, as he slowly turned his head to slightly look down at himself from his lay down state.

"I got shot. He shot me." Tom breathed, evidently in shock, bewildered that the entire situation that was happening. Y/N shushed him quietly, stroking his hair whilst trying to hold in her tears.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I thought I'd lost you." She whimpered, and his eyes dragged slowly over to her. She could tell he was fighting to stay conscious, watching his eyelids slowly drag up and down across his eyes, he'd lost beyond a lot of blood. "I love you." He croaked. "I was coming for you, I promise...I was..." Gasping at his lack of breath, Tom's eyes screwed shut tightly, he could already barely breathe - talking was making that incessantly more difficult.

"Shh, my love. Save your breath. Don't hurt yourself. We've got you. I love you so much, you'll be alright, I promise." She cooed, noticing the squeal of tires as Harrison's car skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stone steps. "Come on! Jesus Christ, he's bleeding out, don't just fucking stand there you pillocks!" He yelled from the drivers seat, and Y/N jumped to her feet as the team lifted Tom carefully, making sure she picked up Harrison's coat on her way.

Her feet stuttered, should she go with them? Surely Nikki should be with him, she's his mother. As if her mind could be read, Nikki placed a hand on her shoulder. "What are you waiting for? Go quickly, before Harrison takes off without you." And Y/N didn't falter for a second longer as she took off in a sprint towards the passenger side door, slamming it shut behind her as Harrison floored it - being as careful as he could with Tom lay in the back seat.

-

Bursting through the front door, going as fast as her legs could take her behind the men carrying Tom inside, Harrison in front - Y/N could do nothing but remind herself to breathe. Manually breathing was proving more difficult than it sounded, but if she didn't, she didn't think she'd be breathing at all.

The once silent room was suddenly thrown into chaos, but unlike the chaos that happened earlier that night whilst everyone was getting ready for a good night, this was much worse. Everyone was panicked, and the only objective right now was to keep Tom alive. Nothing else mattered. Not to the family, not to the twins or Harrison, and definitely not to Y/N. 

The world couldn't take him away from her this soon, she was sure she'd found her soulmate on this godforsaken fucked up planet, and she refused to let anyone take him away from her before he was due to be.

Y/N felt like she couldn't move away from the side of the door, afraid of getting in the way whilst watching the crowd of people busy themselves with moving furniture and a team of what looked like medical professionals brought in masses upon masses of equipment. Y/N had never seen anyone deal with a gunshot wound before, but the sheer amount of chaos in the room proved that this one was bad. Beyond bad. The floor was caked in drops of blood from where Tom had been carried across the threshold into an open space.

Y/N couldn't do anything but remind herself to breathe. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. And that was all she could do until Harrison appeared beside her out of nowhere, frightening the living daylights out of her. "Hey, come sit down, you look like you're about to pass out any second." Putting his hand on the small of her back, he led her towards the breakfast bar, placing his hands either side of her in the air as she sat down, trembling.

Rushing around the island, Harrison grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge, passing one to her after he'd made his way back beside her, taking a seat. "He'll be alright. He's a strong man. He might not look alright, but it'll take more than a gunshot to kill Tom. I promise you." He noticed Y/N seemed to not even be on the same planet.

He placed a hand on her arm, and she jumped, looking over to him with wild eyes. "If he's not alright, you can batter the living shit out of me, alright?" Giving her a soft smile, holding his little finger out to her, just like she'd done months before when they'd first met.

Y/N swallowed thickly, lifting a shaky hand to his and locking their fingers, before opening her hand and grasping the back of his. He placed his free hand over hers, squeezing it tightly. He knew she needed to ground herself right now. He knew this was all too much for her. She was terrified of losing Tom.

"I can't lose him, Haz. I can't. I don't know what I'd do. I'm in too deep with this life. I can't go backwards from here, only forwards, and I can't do that without him." Her voice cracked on the last sentence, and tears started to stream down her face as she stared across the room at the crowd of medics around Tom, who was now lay on a makeshift gurney, the head medic (she assumed) gloved up and covered in his blood over his chest.

Harrison scooted his stool to touch hers, wrapping both arms around her tightly. His heart broke for the small woman that he'd grown to love as his own sister. She was falling apart at the thought of losing her lover, and though he couldn't fully understand how that felt, he could guess enough.

-

It felt like days had passed in the hours that the medics tirelessly worked over Tom, there was blood everywhere. All over them, all over the gurney, all over the floor, Harrison was covered in it, Y/N was covered in it, and so were Tom's men. There was so much blood. Y/N wondered if she'd ever be able to smell blood again without being sick.

Y/N remained in the stool, hunched over with her elbows on her thighs, hands over the bottom half of her face, fingers touching on either side of her nose. Harrison still sat beside her, glancing at her every now and again to make sure she was even still breathing. She hadn't even twitched. Hadn't moved a muscle, he wondered if she'd even blinked in the past couple of hours. He was beyond worried about the both of them. Everything that she'd been through, and he'd never seen her like this, not even after she'd been kidnapped.

They'd managed to remove the bullet about half an hour beforehand, but Tom had lost so much blood already, and was still bleeding. She'd heard Dr. Livingston mention he'd never seen a gunshot wound so bad, that the shooter knew exactly where he was shooting, though it may have not looked it, he'd shot Tom in the perfect place to cause as much damage as he could in a split second decision.

Y/N's mind faded in and out, half listening to what was going on around her, and half thinking about what she'd do if Tom didn't make it - whether it was tonight or complications during healing. Sure, she could go back to the pub, albeit she'd have to get a new apartment, but she'd be in danger - and without Tom she couldn't dare ask someone to keep her safe after leaving them in Tom's absence. 

Her mind was reeling with every possibility and every outcome that could ever exist, she almost didn't realise that the medics had stepped away from Tom to speak to Harrison, the twins and Nikki. Startled by the change in atmosphere, she shot up from the stool, trying to catch anyones eye. What was happening?

Harrison was the first to glance over at her, and he gave her a warm smile and a slight nod. He was alright, Tom was okay. He was alive.

-

"He needs a lot of rest, a LOT. I'd say a week at the very least before he even thinks of sitting at his desk. I advise not leaving him alone, in case he falls, he's going to be extremely weak for a short while. I'm sure you noticed the massive blood loss he went through." She heard Dr. Livingston mumble to Harrison.

"Of course, of course." Harrison nodded, a slight frown on his face as he realised that Tom's duties would be left up to him and the twins until he was alright to come back to work again. Further nodding as Livingston passed him multiple pill bottles, telling him when to give them and how many - antibiotics, Y/N assumed. He passed Harrison another bottle, telling him to only give them if Tom was in unbearable pain, as they were highly addictive and the outcome of addiction to them was anything but pretty.

With a brief mention of "Call me if his state changes, ANY change aside from healing." Dr. Livingston left, his team following behind him, and suddenly the room was plunged into silence. Tom's team was still here, perched on the sofas and chairs in the waiting area, nobody dared move. Harrison stood beside Nikki, just staring down at the pills in his hand.

Y/N's head turned to Tom, who was unconscious on the gurney, and she slowly stood - making her way over to him. He looked so peaceful, once again, almost dead, if it wasn't for the shallow breaths that moved from his chest. She pulled her lip between her teeth, ghosting a hand over his forehead as she looked down at him.

She heard Harrison mumble behind her, and as she slightly turned, she realised he was telling Nikki to go home and rest, that he'd call her every day and keep her updated. She looked exhausted, and dishevelled, and Y/N's heart broke for her. Not only had Y/N almost lost her lover tonight, but Nikki had almost lost her eldest son, her first baby. Sam and Harry looked equally as exhausted, as Harrison pulled them into a brief man hug, and they plodded up the stairs. They'd almost lost their big brother tonight.

Now that she could almost relax, and the panic and adrenaline had subsided, Y/N realised just how exhausted she was, and Harrison made his way over to her, placing an arm around her shoulders as her head fell onto his.

"Come on, we'll get the lads to lift him upstairs and into bed, you should try and sleep, I'll handle the meds until you've had some rest." Squeezing her far shoulder, he flicked his hand at the men gathered around the sofas, causing three of them to stand, each taking a side of the gurney and carefully lifting it to hoist Tom up the stairs, Y/N trailing behind like a zombie.

-

She had no idea how long she'd been lay in the bed beside Tom. Her sleep was broken, as if her body would only allow her to sleep for less than an hour at a time. He hadn't moved in hours, but she found solace in the sound of his soft snores. She'd taken to following the pattern of the paint on the ceiling, last glancing at the clock at 4am, but that was a while ago - and she daren't look at it again, noticing the sun was starting to rise.

She wondered what she'd be doing right now, if Tom hadn't made it last night. She wondered if she'd still be in this room, or whether she would've had to sleep in another - not being able to sleep in a room where they'd made so many firsts together.

Y/N almost wished she was hungover, so she had an excuse to laze about all day, but she'd sobered up extremely quickly after last nights chaos, and now she could do nothing but want to get up to occupy her mind. She decided she might as well do something, settling on heading downstairs to grab a coffee and returning to watch the sunrise on the balcony - not wanting to leave Tom alone for too long, just incase.

It was no surprise to see Harrison already in the kitchen, leaning over a laptop, coffee mug beside him. "Morning." She whispered, hoping not to spook him. He turned slightly to face her, giving her a warm smile. "Morning. You couldn't sleep either, huh?" He queried, giving her a lopsided, almost sad smile.She shook her head "Not at all, my mind just won't stop. Thought I'd grab a coffee and sit on the balcony for a little while. Get some air." Trying not to clink the mugs around too much, or close the cupboard too harshly, she poured herself a coffee - black.

"You're welcome to join if you like, I don't wanna leave Tom alone for too long but I can't imagine it's fun to sit here alone either." He smiled at her, giving her a brief nod and closing the lid of the laptop, grasping it in one hand and grabbing his coffee with the other as he followed her up the stairs, through their room and out onto the balcony, placing his mug down on the small table between the chairs and shutting the balcony door behind him, so they wouldn't wake Tom.

There they sat together, embracing the slow rise of the sun, welcoming a new day. A safe one. A glorious one. One filled with hope, and its air filled with the scent of fresh coffee and cigarette smoke, as their favourite and most important person slept away his pain behind them; they were just glad he was alive.

-

Word Count: 3918

A/N: Well, there you have it! Hope I didn't scare anyone too much with the cliffhanger last chapter, don't worry - Tom isn't going anywhere any time soon - there's way too many chapters ahead to lose him so quickly.

There's not much else to say, it's late here and I'm exhausted, I'll try and get another chapter out this week but I don't wanna burn myself out with writing again so don't hold me to that lmao.

As always - 

All my love,

Red x


	17. Endgame.

It had been a few days since Tom had been shot, and Y/N was unbelievably exhausted. It wasn't that she minded waiting on him hand and foot, she would've done it whether she'd been asked to or not; but nonetheless it was physically draining.

Tom had only just been able to muster up the strength to sit up by himself, let alone stand and walk. The blow to his torso had damaged him more than it had appeared to, and he was taking much more time to heal. Y/N worried for him, incessantly, always wondering if things may have been different if she'd asked Nikki to come with her to the bathroom, or even Harrison - leaving him stood outside the door.

There was no time for worrying though, because just like clockwork, Tom had started to stir behind her - raising an arm to try and stretch out his back without hurting himself. "Good morning." His voice was low, and coarse - if it was any other time, Y/N would have relished in it, but knowing that his pain was causing him to sleep badly, it simply bothered her now.

"Morning, love. Can I get you anything?" Y/N almost blushed. He'd been awake for less than a minute and she'd already found herself standing from the vanity and resting at his side, he probably wasn't even conscious enough to be aware of anything he needed yet.

"I dunno, can you refill my water though? A glass of warm water isn't very refreshing in a morning." He gave her a small lopsided smile, which she returned, running her hand through his hair and pushing it away from his face. "Of course. Do you want ice? I can nip down and grab some." He shook his head, replying that tap water was fine and that he just wanted something a bit fresher than the water from the night before.

"Is there anything small you want to do today? I can't imagine how bored you must be just lying around compared to what you're usually up to." Y/N had spent the most part of the week doing anything she could to keep him occupied, for his sanity and to take his mind off the pulsating wound on his stomach - but she was starting to run out of ideas. She'd already read him three books, and they'd watched copious amounts of films. She'd even got Harrison to bring in the Playstation from the living room in case Tom wanted to take his pained anger out on some unsuspecting NPC's.

"I was actually going to ask if you wanted to do anything - outside of here. You must be going mad spending every second with me, I'm not much fun right now. What about going to see my mum? She did say she'd love to spend more time with you and I doubt she's busy. I could call?" Tom babbled, and Y/N gave him a small smile - she could tell that he hated being on bed rest, but he hated that he was holding her back from life more. She'd already told him she didn't mind that much, but he never listened.

"If you don't mind too much, and Harrison or the twins are free to take over for me, I'd love to. It's only been a few days but I feel like I haven't seen her forever." Tom nodded, running his hand over the side of her face before reaching for his phone on the bedside table.

-

It was odd, being in a car where she didn't know the driver. Nikki had insisted not to take Harrison and the twins away from covering Tom's duties and care, and had sent a car to Tom's house, no matter how much Y/N had insisted she'd get someone to drive her. The drive was awkward, even though it was short, and Y/N wondered if she should be talking to the driver she could see through the open partition - though with the drive being so short, only being down the road from Nikki and Dom's already, she decided against it.

Another weird thing that had never dawned on her before was getting out of the car without Tom. Usually, she sat for a few seconds longer whilst Tom sped around to her side and helped her out, but she almost felt like she'd forgotten how to get out of a car as she opened the door herself and hoisted herself onto the gravel driveway - waving a quick thanks to the driver who pulled the car forwards, settling it beside the multiple cars already parked on the driveway. She spied him taking a sandwich out of the glove box through the windscreen.

The doorbell barely rang before the door flung open bringing Y/N face to face with Nikki, who swiftly took the small girl into her arms in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you, sweetheart." Nikki soothed into her hair, pulling back to give her a broad smile. "Come on, come in. We're gonna have so much fun!" Y/N giggled as Nikki pushed the door closed behind her and pulled her through the house by her hand.

-

"Where did you learn to take photos like this, Nikki? They're incredible. I've never seen anything like them." Y/N breathed "They're so...raw. They're beautiful. All of them." Eyes glancing across the photos spread across the floor, she looked down at the photo she was holding in her hand, it was one of Paddy, Sam and Nikki - probably taken by Harry.

" Eyes glancing across the photos spread across the floor, she looked down at the photo she was holding in her hand, it was one of Paddy, Sam and Nikki - probably taken by Harry

Y/N smiled down at the photo, she loved how close the Holland's were (well, minus Dom.) and there was a part of her in the back of her mind that just wished she had the same. Especially the relationship that Paddy had with Nikki; that was something golden, and Y/N only wished she had the same with her parents. Unfortunately, her relationship with her parents was more like Tom and Dom.

Nikki must have noticed Y/N suddenly become quiet, because she'd shuffled from her place on the floor in front of her in seconds - coming to sit beside her; her legs wrapped underneath her. "Your parents would be so proud of the woman you've become, No matter how rocky your relationship with them seems, they would be so proud. Just like Tom and Dom, I know somewhere in there - Dom is proud of him and all he's accomplished in such a short time. I just know it. It's the way parents work." Y/N felt Nikki's hand softly stroking the back of her head, as she sniffled a little and put the photo down on the pile to her side. "I hope so."

-

Y/N and Nikki spent the rest of the night curled up in the living room with way too many glasses of wine, talking about all sorts of things - ranging from Y/N's school days, to the Holland brothers childhood stories from Nikki. Y/N felt relieved to feel so relaxed, and she was enjoying herself. She'd been so tense after Tom had been shot that she didn't even realise that her shoulders had constantly been tense, her jaw constantly clenched - and as everything ached and the wine dulled the pain, Y/N couldn't silently thank Nikki enough for accepting her so welcomingly. 

"So Tom comes downstairs in his suit right? And he's ADORABLE" Y/N giggles as she tries to imagine a gangly 14 year old Tom in a tux. "And obviously I'm his mother so I'm gushing over him, telling him how handsome he looks and all." Nikki pauses to laugh, her face tinted pink (from the wine, or from the laughing? Maybe both.) "And lo and behold, who walks in through the front door to meet us? Harrison. And what's he wearing? The same tux as Tom!" Y/N let out a cackle, because of course they would turn up in the same tux.

"They had no idea! Harrison started saying Tom had copied him, and Tom was saying Harrison copied him, and we just stood there and watched them bicker about it because it was just so funny! Pads was only about 5 at the time, poor little man had no clue what was happening." Nikki wiped a tear from her eye, trying not to set herself off laughing again. "He was only about this big," lifting a hand to about the height of the sofa "He's always been so tiny and adorable and look at him now!" Y/N smiled at her before saying "He's still tiny and adorable though, Nikki." to which she responded "Yeah, you're right - but I've got another whole ass teenager! The boys are in their 20's now and Paddy is a teen and I feel so old..." Nikki grumbled, causing Y/N to let out another cackle.

"I thought I could hear you, Y/N." Came a voice from the doorway, and Y/N turned around to be faced with none other than Paddy himself. "Aw Pads, come sit, we were just talking about you." Y/N waved a hand, patting the space on the sofa beside her.

"Me? What are you talking about me for?" Paddy queried, drawing a heartfelt smile from Nikki. "Just telling Y/N about Tom and the boys when they were younger, trying to embarrass them whilst they're not here." Paddy's face lit up at that, turning to face Y/N as he almost yelled "I have PLENTY of stories to tell."

-

The time drew on, and the three of them laughed into the night. Y/N was way more drunk than she intended to be, but she didn't mind. She knew Tom was in safe hands and it was late enough for her to crawl into bed beside him when she got home. 

Waving a brief goodbye to Nikki and Paddy stood by the door, the car pulled around the drive and out of the gates - and Y/N found herself looking out the back window, watching the house grow smaller and smaller until the car turned a corner.

Arriving back at Tom's home, Y/N almost fell out of the car - only now realising how drunk she actually was. She mumbled a quiet sorry to the driver, who absolutely looked like he was trying not to laugh, and made her way inside - worming her way around the kitchen island to the fridge, where upon yanking it open with all the strength her little intoxicated body could muster, she fell backwards against the counter behind her, letting out a small squeak of surprise.

"You look like you had fun." A voice spoke from behind her, and she spun to find Harrison leaning against the kitchen island on his forearms, a wide smirk on his face as she almost lost her footing and span a full 360. "Is it really that obvious?" Y/N tried to whisper, but it came out as more of a quiet shout instead. 

He laughed, running a hand through his hair "Bloody hell. If it wasn't before, it absolutely is now. How much did you have to drink?" He chuckled, making his way to the cooler beside her and handing her a bottle of water. 

"We definitely made it through at least three bottles of wine between us. I didn't even realise until I put the empty one down and it clinked against the other two." Y/N could feel her face burning. It wasn't often that people saw her drunk, but it was definitely obvious when she was. Even more so, she hated being the only one that was drunk, and now she was home - she was living in her nightmare.

"I definitely should've eaten more before I left." She mumbled, and Harrison chuckled again. "Tom's still awake, so have fun with that." Giving her a shit-eating grin before turning and heading back up the stairs, Y/N trailing far behind him - deathly embarrassed. 

-

Y/N didn't say anything when she entered the bedroom, the longer she didn't speak, the longer she played the sober game. Tom glanced up from his book, glasses perched on his nose as he looked over the top of the rim. "Ah, hello my love. How'd it go?" 

In her drunken state, Y/N could've melted at the pet name, but she had to pretend to be at least a little sober to avoid the teasing from Tom, however "Pfft, yeah. Good. Nice." was all she managed. He quirked a brow at her, staring as if he was scanning her. "Nice, yeah?" the ghost of a smirk on his face, just like she was used to.

"Yeah. Looked at some photos for a bit, your mum told me a bunch of embarrassing stories about you, Harrison and the twins and then Paddy joined us and told me more - it was really fucking funny." was what Y/N meant to reply to him, but it came out as more of a "Yueh, look'dut some fffotos forabit, yermum told me a bunshhh of embrrrsing storehzboutyu, Harsn n the twinz nthen (P)addy joindus n toldmemur - it wasrilly FFFFucking funny."

Tom snorted at the almost gibberish that came out of her mouth, reaching a hand out to her and pulling her to sit beside him. "You were actually doing really well at pretending to be sober, for a hot second I didn't even notice until you said more than four words."

Y/N groaned in embarrassment, and Tom laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist - carefully pulling her into his shoulder. "You're fine. It was funny. I've been super bored all day so at least you gave me a bit of a laugh before the day ended." He had that goofy grin on his face, and his eyes screwed tight when he finished his sentence in a short laugh. Y/N was just thinking about how beautiful he was. Head empty, otherwise.

He let her move to get changed into one of Toms old t-shirts and pull off her leggings - almost falling onto the end of the bed whilst she did so, before climbing into bed beside him - lying on her back and looking at the ceiling. A moment passed before she turned her head to look at him, he was already looking at her, lying partially on his side - head propped up on his hand, which was propped up by his elbow.

"Tom?" Y/N asked, as if she had to catch his attention and he wasn't already staring at her. "Yes, darling?" He was still smirking, she obviously couldn't hear how drunk she sounded, he thought it was adorable. "Do you...Do you think we're endgame?" Tom tilted his head. "How do you mean?" Y/N swallowed, why did she have so much spit in her mouth? "I mean like...the power couple, mum and dad...y'know, endgame."

Tom's eyes widened a little, but he brushed it off quickly - not that she would've noticed anyway in this state, she'd already turned her eyes back to the ceiling. "What makes you ask that, love?" Maybe the key to getting her to open up about things was to talk about her while she was drunk. Tom thought back to the night they argued, when he'd found her in the garden with a bottle of wine and all the things she'd spewed out at him.

"I dunno. It sounds stupid but like, I feel like we might be endgame. Or maybe, you're endgame for me, but I might not be endgame for you. Y'know? Like, yeah we argue sometimes but it's never over anything worthwhile, and you do so much for me, and you care so much and at this point, I couldn't imagine life without you - and if you weren't here anymore, I couldn't think about spending it with anyone else." Y/N slurred, though it was a lot less coherent than that.

Tom sat up straighter, his breath came out shaky and rapid. "Like, endgame as in soulmates?" His voice felt small, he felt small, it wasn't something he'd ever thought about before. She turned to look at him, and almost instantly his breathing slowed. He could stare into those eyes forever, even if they were half shut right now.

"Yeah. Like soulmates. Like, maybe you were destined to find me, wherever you found me," her brow furrowed a little at the still mystery of how Tom knew her in the first place "and maybe you were destined to follow me so that you could come into the Tails, and maybe I was destined to be the one to serve you - and not Jay. Maybe it was destiny that Jay told me that I needed to live my life and do more, and that's why I agreed to work for you. Maybe it was destiny that Dante stormed the gala so we grew closer together that night." She looked as if she was going to say something more, but she stopped herself.

Tom's entire body felt hot. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He believed in love, sure, but that was only because of Aria - before that he doubted it entirely. But soulmates? The thought had never crossed his mind, he'd barred any belief of it from his brain. Now? He wasn't so sure he should have.

"Yeah." He gasped, and her head snapped to look at him again, he looked down. "Yeah, I think we're endgame. I think I've known for a while but haven't realised. But that night I almost lost you? I blacked out. I couldn't think of anything but finding you. I couldn't lose you. I'd only just got you. I was terrified." He took a short breath, looking back up at her slowly. "When I picked you up that night, when you were covered in bruises and blood, I just knew that I wanted to be with you forever, or I was almost sure. I'd never felt like that before."

Her eyes willed him to continue, he looked terrified, but she wanted him to feel safe, so she spoke first. "The other night, at the Halloween party? When I was outside with your mum and Pads?" He nodded at her. "I thought I'd lost you. When I saw you being carried out, limp and covered in blood, I thought that was it. I thought you were already dead and they were just bringing you home." Her voice wavered, trying to hold back tears.

"My mind was empty. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream. I wanted to. Fuck, I wanted to. I was mortified. I was certain that you were dead and all I could think about was that I hadn't told you that I loved you before I left you." She swallowed thickly, her bottom lip quivering. "I was heartbroken, I didn't know what to do, where to go. I had all these thoughts running through my head. I couldn't leave this life now. I'm too deep into it. But I couldn't go back to a normal life and ignore everything that's happened completely. I couldn't ignore who I've become, the people I've met. I couldn't leave Harrison and the twins and Paddy. God, Paddy." She hiccuped, tears falling down her face.

"He looked terrified, I think he thought you were dead too. And Nikki, I've never seen someone's face look like that. I wondered if I looked like that too." Tom reached over to brush her tears away with his thumb, resting his hand on her face.

"I was so relieved when I knelt beside you and I saw you breathe. Even if it was just a little bit and it wasn't certain you would live yet. You were alive, for that moment, and at least I could tell you that I loved you, just in case it was the last time I could."

Tom sniffled, tears running down his face too. She glanced over at him, peeling her eyes away from the spot she'd been staring at. "It was then, that I knew. When you took that breath and my world started coming back together from the crash, it was then that I knew I wanted to be with you forever. I needed to be with you forever, nothing would make sense without you." 

Tom let out an odd noise, between a grunt and a sob, causing Y/N to shuffle closer to him and hold him. "I was fighting so hard, darling. I could hear everything when I was on that gurney, but I couldn't move. I couldn't leave you, I could hear Harrison talking to you - he told me the other day that he'd never seen someone like that, the way you were whilst Livingston was working on saving me." He swallowed thickly, tears blurring his vision. "I couldn't let myself fade away. If not for myself, for you."

Y/N let out a whine, trying not to let out a loud sob, and she buried her face into his chest (carefully, of course.) "I could never leave you, never. I love you. I love you so much. I love you more than life itself, Y/N." And she broke, sobs racked her body and he held her, sobbing quietly himself, before bending his neck to rest his mouth by her ear.

"You're my endgame. You always will be. You have been ever since I first saw you. It just took me some time to realise that."

-

Word Count: 3571

A/N: Sorry it's taken a little while to post this, and sorry that it might suck a little, but please don't give up on Tom and Y/N yet! There's much more to come. As always, thank you for reading.

All my love,

Red x


	18. Double Vodka Lemonade.

A/N: I've been thinking about face claims for this chapter, as I've posted a photo of what I imagine the Milani twins to look like, and everyone else looks like themselves aside from Y/N who I left mostly open to imagination, could imagine her as yourself, or any celebrity you want so:

Jay, from the bar, I see as Dylan Minnette but more rugged and less soft? Like if Dylan had less of a baby face and a bit of a beard etc lmao

I see Steve, her former boss, as Mads Mikkelsen, NO doubt. But instead of just under 6ft he's almost 7ft lol. I also imagine him in my head as having a deep south American accent? Like, think Devil All The Time kinda vibes?

This is a little bit of a filler chapter - but you can't always have drama eh? Wouldn't be fun if it was constant drama;) but it's super cute and I really enjoyed re-writing it despite my first draft disappearing lmao.

ANYWAY - here we go!

-

Around a month later, Tom was well enough to get back to work properly. Harrison and the twins had done an amazing job at keeping things going around the place, and Tom couldn't be more thankful for everything that everyone had done for him whilst he was out of commission.

Sitting in his office chair almost felt alien to him after being out of it for so long, and the usual sweatpants and t-shirts he'd been lounging around in had been traded for his usual crisp suit and combat boots. His holster was missing from the ensemble though, Y/N had convinced him not to put any pressure on his torso, and instead had Harrison stand inside the office by the door instead.

The day went by smoothly and quickly, with Y/N convincing Tom to book easy days for a short while, meaning less meetings and more free time in the evenings. Harrison was still handling the paperwork for him so he could get plenty of rest, no matter how much Tom tried to assure the pair that he was fine and could do it himself - they just wanted what was best for him, so he accepted it.

By that evening (if you could call 4pm evening) Tom was changing out of the tight, slightly uncomfortable suit into something more casual, resting on the bedside, phone in hand, whilst he watched the love of his life get ready herself. She'd asked him earlier that day if they could make a visit to The Six Tails, and of course - Tom obliged immediately. She'd spent so much time away from the only friends she knew before him, and he almost felt guilty about it despite how many times she'd reassured him that she didn't mind and she'd kept in touch over video call with both Jay and Steve regularly to let them know that she'd in fact, not turned up dead in a ditch somewhere. That made Tom laugh.

Tom felt his heart swell whilst he looked upon her. He wondered if it was possible that she got more beautiful as the days passed. Today, she stood before him, dressed in a skintight black dress with a red chinese dragon print, with thin straps - which she'd paired with her faithful combat boots and fishnet tights. As she pulled her oversized denim jacket around her shoulders, pausing to roll the sleeves to her elbow and shoving her belongings in the pockets, she turned to him - catching him staring at her.

"What, there something on my face?" She quipped with a smirk and a twinkle in her eyes. She looked incredible. Her makeup was perfect, as it always was. Her hair (still dip dyed) rested in loose waves falling to the middle of her back, the top portion pulled up into a ponytail in the middle of her head. 

"You're just beautiful." He breathed, and she almost didn't hear him, but she did. Making her way over to sit by his shoeless feet that were propped up on the bed - she rested her hand on his knee. He looked almost identical to the day they met, sporting a similar t-shirt and a different leather jacket, with the same jeans and the combat boots that sat beside the bed, waiting to be pulled on at the last minute. She smiled at the memory, remembering how nervous she was to speak to him back then. If only she knew.

"I think you need to wear your glasses more often, Mr. Holland." And he laughed, shaking his head and placing his hand over hers. "Don't be silly. It's true." She smiled at him, leaning forwards between his legs to place a soft kiss on his lips. "You're silly. Now come on, before we don't end up going at all." She grinned, wiggling her eyebrows causing Tom to let out another laugh knowing exactly what she meant.

-

Walking into The Six Tails felt strange, Y/N felt like she hadn't been here for years, when in reality it was only a few months. It was December already, albeit it only being early December, and her mind reeled back to when she was last here - making her way to start her shift on the crisp September night that changed her life forever.

Y/N wasn't in her own thoughts for too long before she was tackled by Jay, almost knocking her over. His yelling was almost unintelligible, but she'd known Jay long enough to make sense of it. "Fuck, girl, I missed you so fucking much, don't ever fucking stay away from us this long EVER again." he yelled, and Y/N cackled, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders.

"I missed you so much, bab. You have no idea how much, I'm so sorry it took me so long to come see you." 

"Damn right you're sorry, it's been fucking forever." He grunted as he shook her from side to side, so hard she almost lost her footing and fell sideways. "Come on, come on, sit yourselves down. I already know what you want, little madam." He pointed a finger at Y/N, causing her to grin, before looking upon Tom, Harrison and the twins.

Making their orders, as Jay whisked away to grab them, Y/N turned her head to her left to see who she was sat a stool away from. It was Jim, he looked rough, but he looked like...Well, Jim, all the same. "Hey, Jim." She grinned, and he lifted his head, double taking before realising who'd spoke to him.

"Fuck ME, if it aint Lil Miss Red, where the shit have you been, lass?" She cackled as she hopped off the bar stool to make her way to his side, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Oh, you know I couldn't stay away from you guys for too long. Part of the ship, part of the crew and all." Jim rested her hands on either side of her shoulders, leaning back to look at her.

"You look good, chick. Healthy. And you're so much louder now, fuck me, we struggled to get more than a few sentences out of you on a good day back then." He chuckled.

"I'm happy for you. I can tell you're happy." His eyes flicked over to Tom, who wasn't really looking at anything, though he was secretly listening in on the conversation.

"Uh, Mr. Holland, sir?" Jim said, voice dropping to a more shy tone. Tom's head turned to look at him, his face soft instead of his usual harsh business look. "I'm sorry for what I said when we last met. Rumours will be rumours, aye? But when I look at lil Red here, I can tell you've done nothin' but good things. It's nice to see her like this." 

What Jim had said took Tom by surprise, and he tried not to show it. "Don't worry about it, fuck, I'd probably say the same if the roles were reversed. But yeah, it is nice. She's amazing. Don't know what I'd do without her." Tom said, his eyes flicking over to Y/N.

She smiled at him briefly, before turning to Jay, a grin making its way onto her face as he placed a pint in front of her, motioning over to the booth behind her.

Tom reckoned he'd asked her to take a pint to the drunkard who usually sat there. Billy, was it? If not, it was something like that. He watched as she tiptoed over to the booth, using one knee to kneel on the sofa and lean further in - placing the pint on the table.

A babbled yell came from the booth, paired with Y/N's laugh, and Tom watched in amusement as Y/N was suddenly yanked forwards into a very drunken hug, nothing but her feet poking out of the side of the booth.

She was so loved by her customers, and her coworkers, he hadn't yet met one person who didn't like her, and he loved that. Everyone was always so happy to see her. She brought light wherever she went - even if she was a little brat sometimes, but Tom loved her all the same.

Y/N plopped onto the stool beside him, lifting her hand to scratch under his chin at the light stubble he'd let grow in, before picking up her drink from the bar. Tom furrowed his brow, surprised it wasn't a glass of white wine.

"Double vodka lemonade. I basically lived on it when I was in uni, I'm pretty sure at one point all I had in my flat was a half full bottle of vodka, a two litre bottle of flat lemonade and some crackers." She bowed her head laughing, embarrassed at the thought of her uni life and Tom wrapped an arm around her waist - laughing back.

-

After a few hours, Steve appeared from the back room, entirely unaware that Y/N was here in the first place - also double taking before throwing his clipboard down on the bar side and swiftly making his way over to her.

"Oh, babygirl, where have you BEEN? I thought you'd never come back to see us." Y/N had missed his coarse yet also soft voice and pet names - Steve had been like a father to her ever since she'd started working there. He'd been there through everything.

She wrapped her arms tighter around him, almost never wanting to let go. "You knew I'd come back to see you eventually, I could never ditch you like that." Pulling away from him to look up at him, starting with a sigh.

"Shit, life has been so hectic. When Jay said to do something new, I think I took it a bit too literally. It's been fucking wild." She laughed, and Steve roared, laughter rumbling from his chest before pulling her back in. 

"Babygirl, you gotta come see us more often, we've missed you so damn much. Look at you, you little mob queen." Y/N blushed, she'd almost forgotten that they knew about the mob. Tom was of course listening in. He liked that. A lot. His little mob queen.

-

Coming down to lean on the other side of the bar, Steve stayed in their company for the rest of the night whilst Jay continued to work; if you could even call it working when he only had to make a drink or two every hour.

Time passed all too fast, but slowly at the same time. Y/N felt like she'd been in the small pub forever, when it was only around 6 hours - and as the clock spun and time moved on, they found themselves having a lock in after the pub had shut to the public (after it had taken Steve and Jay almost half an hour to drag Billy out of his booth and get him in a black cab.)

"Come on doll, we gotta show the boys what it was like in the old times." Steve soothed to Y/N, giving Jay a nod towards the jukebox and extending his hand to her. She grinned, a little woozy from the alcohol, but hopped off her stool and stalked towards him anyway, a slight bounce in her step.

Steve took her hand gently, as if she'd shatter if he held her too hard, her other hand coming to rest on his shoulder as his arm came to lay on her back - palm flat against her as she leaned into him.

Steve had been everything to her through the last few years, and the best father figure she'd had, and she missed times like these where she, Steve and Jay would get drunk after a shift and dance the night away.

Etta James' A Sunday Kind Of Love started to play over the jukebox, a fixer upper that Steve insisted he modernise, and they started to slow dance around the small space between the bar and the booths. Giggles spilled out of Y/N's mouth as Steve loudly sang along, spinning her around and pulling her back in over and over, chuckling as she stumbled over her own feet drunkenly.

Tom watched his lover from the bar, a soft smile on his face, she was always so beautiful - and he could tell that she thought nothing short of the world of Steve.

As intimidating as he looked, you could tell that Y/N was the daughter he never had, that he would absolutely do anything for her, just like Tom.

"You really love her, don't you?" came a voice from his left, and Tom turned his head to look at Jay. "What, me?" Of course he meant you, dumbass, Tom thought to himself.

"Yes, you. I don't have lazy eyes, I'm looking at you." Jay sassed back to him, giving him a sultry smile as if he knew anything and everything Tom and Y/N got up to. He probably did.

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah, I really do. She's everything." Tom replied in a hushed tone, almost embarrassed he was admitting it to what was really a complete stranger. Jay said nothing for a short while, eyes passing over Tom as if he was taking every inch of him in. 

"You ever hurt her, I'll make sure a new mob family rises to the top, alright? I'm not afraid of you, Mr. Holland. That tiny little fire cracker of a woman means the world to so many people, especially me, and if you break her heart? I'll snap your fucking neck."

Tom was about to chuckle before he turned his view back to him, and suddenly found his reply almost intimidating, considering Jay said the entire sentence with a harsh stare and a pleasant but subtly psychopathic grin on his face.

"I wouldn't dream of it, not intentionally. If I ever hurt her, I'll fix it, I couldn't dare to not." Turning his head back to the swaying girl, giggling in her work dads arms - her cheeks rosy and her eyes glazed by the booze. The soft smile reappeared on his face. "Never in a million years."

-

"Bitch, I know you aren't ignoring me right now, you better be putting our fucking song on." Y/N called across the pub to Jay before knocking back her third black Sambuca shot of the night, raising a booming laugh out of Steve and a snort out of Harrison. 

"Miss thing, will you calm the FUCK down for a hot minute? I'm trying to find it." Jay sassed back to her (in his best camp accent of course), causing Y/N to wrinkle up her face and stick her tongue out at him, crossing her arms over her chest. Tom laughed, she was adorable when she was drunk.

A laugh bubbled from Tom's chest again when he recognised the song that had started playing. Of course their song was fucking Lizzo. "You better have done your stretches dickhead, cos I'm out here and I'm READY." Y/N yelled, flexing her arms either side of her head, and the twins finally burst into cackles - almost falling off their stools. (They were probably just as drunk as her.)

Y/N sassily walked around the space she'd slow danced in an hour earlier as she shouted the lyrics back at her best friend, noting as soon as Lizzo sang "You coulda had a bad bitch!" was her cue to drop into a squat before jolting back up and falling into their choreographed routine.

Harrison let out a cheer, laughing at the two who were surprisingly on beat and in sync despite how drunk they were (after Jay had played catch up after his shift by downing 8 shots of tequila.) and Tom laughed so hard he had to close his eyes, he never thought he'd see Y/N DANCE dance, it was hilarious but she was incredibly good at it. Tom wondered if there was anything she wasn't good at.

"I have a request!" Sam yelled as the song ended, and Steve waved a hand towards the jukebox giving him the go ahead. A few seconds later, a squeal came from Y/N, a cackle coming from Jay, Tom quirked an eyebrow at her. "When I was little, I used to stay in the same hotel every time I went to Ibiza, and every night they'd have a kids disco and this was my FAVOURITE song!"

Tom soon recognised it to be the Mini Disco version of Superman, causing him to snort at the thought of a tiny Y/N dancing in her sundress into the warm Ibiza night, (A/N: if you know what song I'm talking about i f with u, that shit SLAPS.) though before he knew it - Harry's arm was wrapped around his bicep, dragging him towards the dance space and yanking him towards Y/N - almost falling into her just in time for him to shrug off his jacket for the 'MACHO MAN' line, bringing his arms up to flex beside him, Harrison letting out a quiet "Show off."

Y/N felt truly at home, here with her closest friends, and some of her oldest friends, her father figure, and the man she was sure was the love of her life. It was bliss. She still caught Tom wincing when he moved a little too fast, but not enough for anyone to notice he kept accidentally hurting himself a little. She laughed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a passionate kiss, feeling him breathe in against her. This is what happiness felt like, and she wasn't letting go of it any time soon.

-

Word Count - 2889

A/N: Despite a big chunk of this book being totally unplanned so far because I'm a dumb bitch (lmfao) I actually started writing it cos I had the majority from around this point going forward planned out - so hopefully if any of my chapters have bored you, FEAR NO MORE BECAUSE THE BRAIN DEMON IS HERE AND SHE HAS A BILLION IDEAS

that i'll write in a few days because MAN I am exhausted lmaoooo I've had like 16 hours of sleep in a week kmn ANYWAY

As always, THANK YOU FOR READING, THANK YOU FOR THE VOTES, THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS - it means a lot. <3 

All my love, 

Red x


	19. Princess.

(A/N: important warning! some light drug abuse mentioned in this chapter! i said i would mention it because as far as mob fics go, death and assault is inevitable because lets be honest that's like 90% of their job and otherwise there'd be a warning at the start of almost every chapter (obviously, the mob isn't pretty.) but drugs are very much a give or take depending on the family, and i know that drugs can be very triggering for some people. if it gets too much for you, please don't hesitate to stop reading, i absolutely don't mind if you comment or message me and i can send you the rest of the chapter after it stops. remember, the most important thing here is to look after yourself! even in your downtime whilst reading, your mental state is always important. x)

-

"What exactly do you wear to a business deal in such a fancy bar? Do I go combat or do I go fancy? Or both? It's easy for men but tactical and fancy are two completely different outfits for women." Y/N babbled as she sifted through the wardrobe in front of her, a frown etched on her face and entirely unaware of the amused smirk on Tom's behind her.

Tom had finally convinced both Y/N and his men that he was ready and good to go, even going as far as to get confirmation from Dr. Livingston when she didn't quite believe him - but he promised her that he was better, and how could she ever say no to him?

"You're not gonna need to run in guns blazing sweetheart, if anything goes down you've got me, Harrison and the twins - and Davidson and Jamie will be right outside the doors just in case." She watched him through the reflection in the mirror beside her as he rubbed a hand across his chin.

"I know that but...what if something does go wrong and I have to run? Do I look like I can run in these?" She hissed at him, and he raised up his hands in surrender as she waved a shoe with a 7 inch heel at him.

"Well, maybe wear something a bit shorter, or a boot so its sturdier and easier to run in if you're so worried - but I promise you darling, you'll be fine. There'll be no need to run."

-

Pulling up to The Scotch of St James wasn't something Y/N thought she'd be doing on a Friday night in December. Before Tom, she probably would've been at Jay's - or Jay would be at hers, and they'd be binge watching all the latest episodes of their newest shows together so they could yell and scream whilst huddled up in blankets and their onesies. But life was different now, and Y/N knew that one day she'd get fully used to it - but some instances were still odd all the same.

Tom seemed to move through the crowd like a summer breeze - warm and inviting. Everyone that he passed seemed to at least know of him, if they didn't literally know him. It was endearing to see how well respected he was by everyone - people pausing their night to offer a handshake or to try to barter with him to accept a drink off them; but Tom had more important things to do, and less people to trust, and swiftly shook hands and declined drinks left and right - eventually making his way up the stairs to the private room at the back of the club.

Y/N tried not to show she was concerned - almost nervous, but not quite, as she sifted her way through the crowd behind Tom, her hand lightly grasping his. She could feel the cool metal of the pistol strapped against her thigh under her dress, it made her shiver.

Tom had told her she didn't need to worry, that she'd be protected, but she couldn't leave it sitting in her nightstand. She just had a bad feeling, especially with how quiet everything had been since Milani had made a surprise return.

The room they had walked into was grand for such a small room. A black marbled floor with a private bar resting up a few steps to the left, a set of speakers to the right; faintly playing the music that was blasting in the club below. It was very evident that it had gone through a refurb beyond the rest of the club for exact customers just like Tom. The room also appeared to be soundproof, she realised, as she couldn't hear the racket from the club anymore after the door tapped closed.

In front of her lay a black velvet C-shaped sofa, curving around a large black glass table. It was swanky, and very Tom. Mirrors lined the walls instead of wallpaper, it was kind of unnerving. Everywhere Y/N looked you could see at least one other person. It was weirdly like a funhouse. 

There was a nudge at her shoulder and as she turned she realised it was Harrison, holding out a quite large glass of clear liquid. "Double vodka lemonade, extra vodka, and big glass measurements." He winked. 

She scoffed at him, gratefully taking the glass from his hand. "Is it that obvious that I'm overthinking things?" She whispered, hoping Tom wouldn't catch wind of their conversation. He chuckled lowly. "A little. But not too obvious, think it's just because I've seen you in bad states before, it's kinda obvious to me now when you're freaking out a little."

Y/N sighed, half trying to calm herself down and half in dismay at how Harrison knew her all too well. Maybe even as well as Tom at this point. She had spent the most time with him away from Tom after all.

"Drink up, we've got like..." he paused to check his phone. "An hour until the client arrives, so we can spend that getting you to relax instead of being so wound up in your head." He gave her a warm smile, placing a hand on her back and guiding her to the sofa.

She slid in, placing her glass on the table whilst she shuffled awkwardly along the seat to sit next to Tom. The booth was huge now that she was sat in it, it could probably seat about 15 people.

"Watch your dress, darling." Tom soothed as he reached over to smooth out the fabric that had lightly caught on the velvet of the sofa; dragging across it where she'd shuffled her way in. She blushed, smoothing the rest of the dress out over her legs, hand once again brushing across the holster on her left thigh.

Tom's hand came to rest on her right, and she almost jumped out of her skin. He gave her a slight concerned look, before it dissolved and he smiled. "Calm down. You're alright. You've got me."

Y/N knew she had him, but he'd only just been given the green light to get back to normal. She was worried something could happen again, and this time it could kill him.

-

If there was anything that Y/N didn't need to be, it was hyperaware, and as her eyes stayed stuck on the bag of powder in front of her - she wondered if it would be a terrible idea, or a great one.

"You don't have to, y'know? I just thought it might help you let loose a little." Harrison murmured, and she glanced over at him. "I'm not like, worried about drugs or anything. I just don't want it to go the opposite way and I freak out more."

"That's why you've gotta try to relax. You won't freak out more if you chill out. Everything will be fine."

Harrison had barely finished his sentence before Y/N's finger was clamping down on her nostril, her other hands little finger dipping into the bag he was holding and hoisting out a nails worth of cocaine; before sniffing inwards harshly. Is there a pretty way that you can take drugs? She thought.

Tom cleared his throat. He knew that it shouldn't be attractive to watch his lover do illegal substances, but he couldn't help it. There was just something about the way that she used her nail instead of a key or a note that hit different. It was almost a power move.

He watched as her head hung backwards so she was looking at the ceiling; noticing her nose wiggle a little bit, before she snapped it back down - facing him. He almost gasped. Did she somehow get even more beautiful in the time it had taken him to take his own bump?

She smiled, her nose wrinkling like it always did, and that one dimple sticking it's way into her cheek. Tom noticed her pupils dilating already; eyes almost black. He couldn't help but laugh, he didn't know why.

-

"Why are you booing me? I'm right!" Harrison jeered, Tom watched as Y/N stuck her tongue out in disgust, a chuckle leaving his chest.

"You're absolutely not and I refuse to think any different...weirdo." She giggled as Tom scoffed at Harrison starting to blush out of embarrassment.

"Pineapple absolutely can go on pizza. I swear to you. Have you even tried it?" He declared, and Y/N whipped round to face him. "Of course I have! Sweet absolutely does not go with savoury. It's just wrong, Haz."

That was when Sam piped in. "Well actually, as a chef in my spare time I have to absolutely disagree with that statement, Y/N." Causing Y/N to cackle before shooting back "What accent did you just put on? Was that supposed to be posh? Cos you sounded like the Queen, like dead ass exactly like the Queen."

Tom bit his thumb, trying not to laugh at the offence on Sam's face as Harry clapped his arm with the back of his hand - doubling over in a fit, before the door opened.

-

"Miller to see you, boss." Jamie announced, and the men around her abruptly stood. Y/N wondered if she should be standing too, so she did anyway - wobbling a little as she slightly bent around the side of the table.

The man that entered the room was exactly what Y/N imagined a seedy person that dabbled in drug dealing to look like. Flanked by 2 men much taller than him, he was about average height, with alabaster skin; a wisp of black hair receding back on top of his head. His eyes looked sunken into his face, dark bags under his eyes, with a crooked nose resting between them.

He was scrawny, but not too much so. He could probably put up a good fight should he have to, but he absolutely wouldn't win if it was anyone bigger than him.

"Mr. Miller. Glad you could join us tonight." Tom spoke. His tone was harsh, obviously in business mode again. Y/N always found it madly fascinating that he could switch so quickly. "Please, take a seat." Tom finished as he waved his hand to the bartender resting at the small bar.

Y/N eyed him as he took the mens orders, before her eyes rested back on Mr. Miller. "Oh please, Tom. You know you can call me Dave, I've told you this before." The scrawny man chuckled, Tom's stone cold expression didn't falter. "Of course. My apologies."

Dave turned to look at Y/N, almost seeming surprised there was a woman at the table. "Ah, who's this then?" Y/N felt sick. Dave looked like he was undressing her with his eyes. Her thighs tensed, as if to check the holster was still there as she could feel her skin pulling against it.

"Mind your business, Miller. That's not what we're here for." Tom commanded, Dave noticeably shrunk back into the sofa. "Just trying to have a polite conversation, Holland."

Tom then gestured to the bag that lay in the middle of the table. "Help yourself. I'm sure you wouldn't mind a bit of powdered courage." He challenged, watching Dave intently as he perked up and reached for the bag on the table - racking up a line in record time before it disappeared into his nostril.

Y/N watched as he wet his finger and dragged it across the table, lifting it to rub the remnants on his gums. She cringed. There was still plenty more in the bag, and she knew there was more elsewhere. The action came off to her as desperate, and almost grimy. 

She glanced over at Tom, who seemed to be thinking the same thing from the way his top lip was tensing - as if he was forcing his face not to turn into a grimace.

"...Anyway, Miller." Dave glanced up at Tom. "You obviously know why you're here. You said you wanted more pay in exchange for pushing more supplies?" Y/N glanced back at Dave, who's eyes had seemingly glazed over. Maybe his tolerance didn't match his appearance.

"Yes, yes. Yeah. I think we can do better, and obviously who wouldn't want more money, am I right Princess?" Dave hollered over to Y/N, a booming laugh rumbling out of his chest as he shot her a suggestive look, causing the two men sat either side of him to laugh too.

Tom felt her leg tense beside him. "I'd prefer it if you didn't speak to me, Mr. Miller. It's not me who you're here for, and I'd like to remind you of who you're making a deal with. You're not the one with the upper hand here." She snarled back at him, Tom noticed her hands grip her thighs.

"And if you know what's good for you, you won't call me Princess again."

Tom felt his heart swell.

"Alright, alright. My apologies. You really know how to pick them, don't you Holland?" Miller chuckled darkly, his eyes glinting in the dim lighting of the room. "Mr. Miller, I'd like to remind you who you're talking to and who you're talking about. I think it's best that you shut your fucking mouth."

Miller froze in his seat, hunched over, and his eyes snapped between Y/N and Tom. "Oh, so that's it. You're fucking, huh? You like his money, Princess? Can't imagine why else you'd be with him." 

A throaty snarl came out of Tom as he shot out of his seat, Y/N quickly rising to stand beside him as Miller and his two men dove out of the booth and around the back of it - out of the line of fire from Tom's pistol. When did he take that out?

Y/N found herself climbing across the sofa to jump behind their side of the sofa beside Harrison and the twins, unholstering her gun from her thigh. Tom gave her a short bewildered look as if to say "You brought it anyway?" before ducking down as a bullet hit off one of the metal bars between the top of the sofa and the padded wall above it.

"Shit!" He grunted, cocking his pistol again before raising to take a few shots through the short gap himself. "Haz, watch Y/N's back. Y/N, you fucking stay there. Promise me." Y/N looked up at him with wide eyes, fighting between helping and staying hidden, with a sigh, she agreed. "I promise. Be careful." before Tom took off round the back of the sofa.

There was a short moment of scuffling, and another gunshot - a yell came from Miller. "That's my fucking best man, you asshole! This is why nobody fucking likes you!" He roared, but Tom only laughed. "Maybe you should've thought about what you were saying first then." He shouted as he rolled back to rest beside Y/N.

She placed a hand on his shoulder as he crouched to face her, asking if she was alright, nodding her head before glancing back to see her back to back with Harrison.

As if by lightning, Miller was stood towering over Tom, his gun pointed at the back of his head. "Tom!" she screamed, raising her arm and firing. 

The wall behind Tom had suddenly become very interesting, and the sound of the bullet leaving the pistol rang in her ears, the drugs probably didn't help.

She heard a grunt by her feet, and immediately looked down in a panic. He was fine. Of course he was. Well, as fine as you can be with a dead body on top of you whilst you lie folded in half like a deck chair.

"For someone who looks like a skeleton, he's fucking heavy." Tom seethed as he shrugged the body off the top of him in annoyance, before his harsh expression melted away - eyes coming to rest on Y/N.

"You just fucking saved my life." He breathed, wide eyes swirling with shock and love.

"Of course I did, asshole. Besides," She laughed lightly, she sounded exhausted, yet she took another breath.

"I've got your six."

-

Word Count - 2747

A/N: Thank you for reading!

All my love,

Red x


End file.
